Arrangements
by Ctoonsluv
Summary: Mephisto had no idea that the killer birthday celebration his uncle Gramorr threw for him and his sister was also going to be his engagement party! It really doesn't get much worse than being betrothed to a princess who hates your guts... but the entire planet depends on these two getting along so... guess they better try.
1. Chapter 1

Here's my Talisto AU. Basically, what would have happened if Gramorr was the lord of his own country in Ephedia and had struck a deal with the royal families instead of overthrowing the monarchies.

Some notes. In this canon Gramorr is the surrogate uncle of Mephisto and Praxina. No blood relation (that's important) and no one has ever been to Earth because there was no reason to go.

...

Mephisto cheered as the entertainment portion for his birthday celebration came to an end. And boy what a celebration it was! Both he and Praxina were turning 18, and their uncle Gramorr threw them the best party anyone in the 6 kingdoms had been to in years! There were rides, a glorious feast, musicians and artisans, games and, of course, free flowing sweet liquors for all. It was a rousing gala that lasted deep into the night, when both moons had risen and were full. Usually Gramorr was somewhat of a drag, but this party was fantastic! Mephisto was heavily, and happily inebriated, enjoying every bit of the celebration.

All seemed to be in high merriments but his very sister, Praxina, who sat in her ornate seat of honor, with her 9th goblet of sweet liquor with the most sour look on her face. Mephisto hovered over to her, his cheeks tinged pink from drunkenness, a laugh in his voice as he spoke, "Why so glum, chum?"

"This party stopped being fun hours ago," Praxina drolled, swirling her glass elegantly. Unlike her brother, she could hold her liquor. Taking a sip she gave a careless shrug, "The only reason I'm still here is to see which of the poor Princesses Uncle Gramorr was able to get,"

"Which one?" Mephisto's head cocked wobbly to the side, "All the royal families are here already,"

A devious smile worked its way to Praxina's lips as she blurted out, "Oh Klatznik. You don't KNOW?! How is that even possible?"

"Know what?"

A loud gong interrupted his sister before she could give him the delightfully horrifying news. Everyone's attention turned to the center of the banquet hall where Lord Gramorr, king of Zanavia stood proudly. He raised his arms so the room would lull to a hush for him to speak.

"I want to thank all of you for coming to this momentous occasion," He started, earning a slight applause from the audience, "As you all know, I have no children of my own... but I am fortunate to have raised two of the finest spell casters in all Ephedia, Mephisto and Praxina,"

Praxina tugged lightly on Mephisto's arm, "Tonight you're going to-"

Mephisto aggressively batted her away, "Shhh! He's talking about us,"

"Not only do we celebrate the momentous occasion of their miraculous birth, but, also the avoidance of the ugliest war that could have been. 10 years ago this day, I, along with the fellow royal families of Ephedia... Came together and arranged an agreement, so our kingdoms would be united and strengthened for many years to come. And Peace would reign for generations!"

At the point, Mephisto was half way finished downing his 12th(... Or was it 13th?) goblet of sweet liquor, and was only half way listening to the boring treaty talk. He hadn't even noticed the grand doors opening at the front of the hall. But, he did notice the small parade of Xerin ladies in waiting, carrying large peacock feathers to shield whatever was in the center of their group. They were all being lead by the Xerin royal family, King Ghul, Queen Kuvira and even the first crown Princess Izira. He watched as they made their way to Gramorr. Both the king and queen bowed immediately, though Izira, took a moment before she followed suit.

Mephisto was completely confused for a long minute, turning to his sister, inquisitively, "Wait... Don't they have another daughter? What was her name...?"

"Oh Melzors!" Cackled Praxina in a whisper, "You're marrying Spook-Alia,!"

What?

"Mephisto, I would like to present to you, your betrothed, to be wife, Talia, Princess of Xeris," Lord Gramorr bellowed. The crowed erupted in applause as a speechless, completely hammered Mephisto stared off in a daze as the hand maidens withdrew their large feathers to reveal the young princess for him to see.

Adorned from head to toe in sapphires and gold. Talia was quite a sight. A glittering sheer blue cape draped over her bare shoulders. A dress made of the finest silk and lined with the purest gold hugged at her taught curves and her crystal blue hair was woven into the most intricate of braids. Piercing gold eyes rose to meet his and for a minute Mephisto was as sober as he had ever been.

She rose to her feet at her fathers command. King Ghul took his daughter by the hand and lead her over to the steps where her future husband was staring at her. She felt incredibly uncomfortable, but knew her position and knew to speak up now would do nothing but dishonor her family and threaten the thin veil of peace that had laid over the lands for the last decade. She had been promised to the adopted son of the tyrant in exchange for the war to end, and now the time to pay up was now.

King Ghul planted a lasting kiss on his daughter's cheek and whispered in their native Xerin language a blessing, "be safe,"

Her mother was next to give her a hug, fighting back the stinging feeling of tears in her eyes. It was brief, for any longer the queen would have broke down.

When Talia made it to her sister, Izira took both her hands and squeezed them so tightly, Talia silently hoped she wouldn't let go. Pulling her into a tight hug, Izira nearly squeezed the life out of her. Talia returned the intensity. No one made her feel safer than Izira. No one. And if there was anyone who would fight this for her... It was her sister.

"Ahem," Lord Gramorr impatiently grumbled, a clawed hand held out expectantly.

Izira shot the man an icey glare, refusing to relinquish her hold on her beloved baby sister. Talia could feel Izira become tense, and the aggressive magic build up inside her. Izira was the level headed one, but this was her sister are talking about. At no point was Izira ever asked about this. And she'd be damned if she'd just stand by and let this monster take her Talia without a fight. Izira would see the whole of Ephedia burn before Talia be harmed.

Talia knew this, so Talia did the hardest thing she had ever done. She pulled away from Izira and showed her a smile. A real, sincere, brave smile that Talia hoped Izira would believe, "I'll be ok," she lied, and turned to take Lord Gramorr's hand.

"Mephisto! May I present to you, your bride," Lord Gramorr exclaimed, gently tugging Talia over toward the still stunned young man who's goblet had dropped from his hand and clambered to the ground quite some time ago. The purple sweet liquor had splashed about, staining the white fabric at his ankles, "Take her hand, boy,"

Dazed, and trying to sort everything out, Mephisto raised an obedient hand to take Talia's. Talia was doing her best to force a pleasant look on her features. Why was he just staring like that? She had heard rumors the young lord was strange but this was bizarre. Was he just drunk? Or was the poor lad simple? He stood there, staring blankly at her, his head slightly swaying too and fro. Talia politely cleared her throat and curtseyed for him.

"Lord Mephisto, It's an honor to-"

Suddenly, Mephisto dropped her hand very quickly only to bend over into the large plant base at his right and empty the contents of his stomach. The loud vomiting echoed throughout the chamber and soon the room was filled with a arouse laughter, even Lord Gramorr cackled delightfully and clapped his hands. But no one laughed louder or more sincere than that of Talia's soon-to-be- sister in law.

"welcome to the family, Spook-alia!" Praxina teased, floating over to the stunned princess to take a quick selfie-picture with her, using the crystal-fractious spell, making sure Mephisto vomiting in the background was clearly seen.

Talia turned a horrified look at her family, who were the only ones not laughing in the entire hall. There was nothing they could do. Talia was to be wed to the Lord of Zanavia's ward. She no longer belonged to them. They couldn't help her. She watched as her parents turned away in shame and sadness but her sister glared intensely. She passed Talia a look that both relieved and terrified her to her core. It was a look that promised her that this would not last.

"Enjoy the party everyone! Eat and drink until the sun has risen," A very pleased Gramorr laughed. He turned to the Xerin family for a few words that Talia could no longer hear. Sighing, she looked to her future husband who was wiping his lip with a table cloth. Normally, Talia was a very caring person, but the last thing she wanted to do was show any affection to the man holding her hostage. After all, he drank himself sick.

"Here ya go, buddy," a smooth voice drawled. Talia looked over to see a silver-haired rogue handing the young lord a glass of water. Mephisto helped himself to it, slurring the water about before spitting it back out to wash his mouth, "I told ya, go easy on the drink,"

The young man gave a smarmy smile to the baffled princess, as he helped steady her fiance, "Hey there, beautiful. Name's Lev. Don't get any ideas, I'm this guys number one slave,"

"Hey! Get offa me, I hate you," Mephisto slurred, pushing away from his would-be savior. Immediately, he patted the guy on the chest affectionately and said, "I'm sorry, I don't mean that, I love you, buddy,"

"I know, pal. I know," Lev chuckled. He brought over Mephisto's chair and suggested, "Now why don't you sit down before you embarrass your wifey anymore, huh? You made a real dorpsblah of yourself. Oh pardon me, Princess,"

"No no. He was quite the dorpsblah," Talia folded her arms over her chest.

"Haha, Hear that, Mephisto? Maybe you should apologize to your lovely fiance here,"

"Yes!" Mephisto exclaimed, quite a bit too loudly for even his own liking. He took two very big, very wobbly steps right over to Talia. Talia gasped involuntarily. She could actually see his features now that they were so close. The young lord was actually quite handsome. Intense green eyes and a very chiseled jaw. His burgundy hair covering thick eyebrows. He opened his mouth to speak and Talia could see the prominent fangs that accompanied his teeth, but she was mostly transfixed on those beautifully serious emerald eyes that looked straight into hers, not a trace of insincerity, and for a moment, she had no idea what he was about to say. He took a breath and...

Blacked out.

"Dorpsblah..."

"That's another one for the scrapbook!"

*Dorpsblah means is an ephedian curse word I made up. Think of it like the equivalent of jackass.


	2. Chapter 2

Ok so this chapter gets a little dark as Talia slips into depression (makes sense given her situation).

Mephisto awoke to the shrill voice of his demented sister mocking him with her typical, "Wakey-wakey!" his head was throbbing (more than usual from a night of drinking) and he felt like he was going to hurl... Or did he already do that? His mouth sure tasted like he had. He didn't need to open his eyes to know Praxina was sitting at the foot of his bed, and he wasn't going to. Melzors his head hurt.

"What do you want, Prax? I mean other than to senselessly torture me?"

Praxina gasped in a veiled attempt at insult, "What? Torture? I just thought you'd like to know that your pewfect widdle pwincess is all alone in the garden, wondering where her adoring fiance could be,"

"Fiance?" Mephisto's eyes popped open, and just as the stinging rays of the suns light pierced his skull, so did the memories of the previous night, "oh klatznik! FIANCE!"

Leaping out of bed, Mephisto began to dash all over, looking for something somewhat decent to wear. He had made a FOOL of himself in front of her last night. Praxina cackled as she watched him frantically rummage through his things.

"Honestly brother, you're the poster child for pathetic,"

"Why did no one tell me about this!?" Mephisto stopped his hunt to complain, "and how did YOU know about it?"

"How did you not?" Praxina scoffed, her ever-present smirk plastered on her lips, "It hasn't been a secret that Gramorr arranged a marriage between his nation and one of the Ephedian royal families. You knew that,"

"Well yeah but why me!? No one said it would be ME!"

"You thought it was a coincidence he took us in the week after the treaty? What? You thought he was just a nice guy taking in two orphan twins?" Praxina sneered, amazed at how naive her brother could be.

"Then why not marry YOU off!?"

It was then that Praxina's eyes became clouded and she looked out the window. Her smirk now completely gone from her features and she plainly said, "He has other plans for me,"

"What do you mean?"

"Aw there she is. Think she's talking to ghosts down there?" Praxina taunted, snapping Mephisto out of his momentary lapse and returned him to throwing on his clothes. He was still stuffing his shirt into his trousers when he leapt from his bedroom window and cascaded down the tower to the garden floor, landing in a soft tumble and sprouting up like a shot to lean effortlessly against a tree that Talia was reading under. To say he startled her was quite the understatement.

"Morning, Princess!"

"Good... Afternoon, Lord Mephisto," Talia said plainly. She noted how ruffled his clothes and hair looked, not to mention the stench of his breath, "I hope you're feeling better,"

"Oh. Ah. Yes. Much-much better, thank you." Mephisto laughed nervously as he started to panic. Why was he in such a rush to get down here? He had no clue what to say. If he had waited maybe he could have come up with a plan or... Something? He could barely remember the previous night, other than feeling completely horrified and sick to his stomach. He knew he threw up in front of her and he knew he blacked out at... Some point. Did he ever even apologize? Probably should do that, "I uh... Just wanted to... Say that I um um... Was very drunk last night,"

"Were you?" Talia asked boredly, turning the page of her book, not even offering him so much as a glance.

"Yes. You see, I had no idea you were going to be uh... I didn't know that the uh... I thought It was just my birthday, you see so I...,"

Talia blinked in surprise. She put down her book on her lap and looked his straight in the eye, "Are you saying you didn't know of the Arrangement?"

"No!" He honestly smiled at her, relieved that she understood his ramblings, "I had no clue to be honest,"

Talia bit down on her lower lip and gave him a look that told him she did not find it as funny, or as charming as he had hoped. In fact, she seemed angrier about it. He started to panic again. Swallowing a lump in his throat he started to explain, "I mean I never would have drank so much had I had known. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that and-"

She rose to her feet so swiftly it completely took the words from his mouth. Her book was clutched in her hands so tight her knuckles grew pale. She glared at him square in his face with the same intensity and audacity he had only seen from his sister.

"I think I've had enough sun for one day, Lord Mephisto. I'm going inside," and without waiting for a response, she turned heel and made an aggressively paced beeline for the door. Mephisto followed suit, trying his best not to forget his manners.

"I'll uh... Escort you inside," He stammered, "Are you hungry? I-I can have someone bring you something to eat,"

"No thank you," was all she said.

"Oh well. Would you like to maybe-"

"No thank you," she blurted out and vanished into the castle, leaving Mephisto outside alone, and terribly confused. Why was she so angry? It wasn't like it was his fault that he didn't KNOW something. No body told him! Everyone just assumed he'd know. How fair was that?! It'd be one thing if she was upset about the drunk-stuff but she didn't even seem mad about that. It was all because he didn't know? How was he supposed to know unless someone TOLD him?

The more he thought about it the angrier he became. SO much so, that he decided he needed to tell her. After all, they were going to be married. Better she know what's what in the relationship. Yeah. That sounded... Right.

Vanishing from the garden, he appeared in a puff of green flames before the princess in the hallway. Startled she blurted, "Lord Mephisto what-!"

"No! You listen!" He barked, hoping it would shock her enough to look intimidated. It didn't. She only frowned more deeply and dropped her jaw in a way that said 'are you kidding me?' but Mephisto persisted, "I am sorry I didn't know about the arrangement, OK? Why is it my fault if I didn't know? No one bothered to tell me!"

"Of course you didn't know! Why would you need to?" Talia blew up, trying to walk by him, but his flying made him difficult to avoid, "It's not like anything in your life was going to change!"

"Uhhhh HELLO. You're here. In MY HOUSE, we're getting Married,"

"Exactly!" She was shouting now, "I'm here. In your house. In one night I've lost my title, my home and my family! And for what? To be the bride of some pompous, slacker of the very nation that tried to have my family killed!"

"Wait..."

"Every year, every month, every day, every moment for the past 10 years... I have been dreading the day I'd have to marry a complete stranger. With the small hope that MAYBE you were feeling just as awful about as I was but no... You couldn't even be bothered to know!" Talia gave him a shove, before storming off down the hall, "Its not your fault no one told you, and forgive me if I seem unreasonable... But you have stolen 10 years of my life already, Lord Mephisto and that simply infuriates me,"

Mephisto let her go, not sure how to feel. How dare she yell at him like that! How dare she blame him for things he had no control and yet... A pit in his stomach started to form that he was certain wasn't caused by his hangover. Looking down, he noticed the book she had been reading, dropped carelessly on its side. In the squabble she must not have noticed she had dropped it. Mephisto tenderly picked it up and dusted it off. It looked like an advanced spell book.

His first thought was the incinerate the thing. If she was so brazen to shout at him then he had every right to burn the thing she had forgotten in her rage. But no sooner had the thought entered his head that he dismissed it. Ok. So maybe he didn't deserve to be spoken to that way... but she didn't deserve... Any of what happened to her.

They were both a couple of kids paying for their parents war. Neither of them should be held responsible for it.

But that didn't mean he was giving it back to her. Nope. He tucked it away in his shirt and flew off back to his chambers. He was dying to get back into bed.

...

Later, as dinner was being served (the only meal Lord Gramorr took with his charges, and expected them all to be there) Mephisto took his seat, feeling much more himself. Already seated was Praxina, who was grinning wolfish at him, "So... how's the Misses?"

"Lay off, Prax," Mephisto glowered.

Both went quiet as Lord Gramorr entered the room. He let out a heavy sigh as he took his seat at the end of the long dining table. Servants were already scrambling to lay down the plates of food, and pour the drinks into everyone's goblets.

"Good evening, children," Gramorr spoke in his most pleasant of tones. He took a second to survey the audience and gave Mephisto a long look, "Mephisto, where is Talia?"

"How should I know?" both hands on his cheeks, Mephisto rolled his eyes at the question.

"Was she told it was time for supper?" Gramorr's patience was surprisingly good, for once.

"Yes, Lord Gramorr, but she said she wasn't hungry," One of the maidens piped up. Her name was Beatrice and she had been at the castle even longer than Mephisto and Praxina. As children, she was their care taker, their nanny of sorts. She was a haggard old thing, but still quite lovely. She had an infectious smile and patient hand. If there was any goodness inside either twin, it was due to Beatrice. Because of her warm nature and expertise with the family, she had recently been promoted to chamber maid, just for Talia.

"I don't care if she's hungry or not," Gramorr scoffed, "Mephisto, go retrieve your fiance. Tell her she doesn't have to eat but our dinners are not an option,"

"Do I have to?" Mephisto groaned. Gramorr said nothing, but grunted in his loud manner and made his eyes glow that scary red color Mephisto learned long ago not to mess with, "Off to get Talia, here I go!" Mephisto jumped to his feet and flew down the corridor to the hall that lead to her room.

"If she doesn't come willingly, feel free to scare her into submission!" Gramorr called out to him, like a father giving his son demented dating advice. This caused a snortle of a laugh from Praxina.

"Oh yeah, that'll work,"

...

Talia sat in her chamber at the top of the tallest tower. It was a beautiful room, adorned with many Xerin silks and beddings. Her family had wanted to ease her comfort so they made sure to send along everything she needed to make her bedroom a Xerin Paradise away from home. Beautiful crystal foliages grew in hundreds of intricate vases. Glowing stones for light and silk curtains strung back by beaded chords. Truly, it was like she was home, until she glanced out the window and saw that ugly twisted Zanavian tree.

Suddenly, there was a thunderous bang at her door. She rolled her eyes, having half expected this. "Princess Talia!"

His booming voice was hardly indistinguishable, but the coy princess patiently and asked, "who is it?"

"Who is it... It's Mephisto! Your fiance!" He bellowed.

"Can I help you?"

"You can come to dinner!"

"I already told Beatrice. I am not hungry,"

"That doesn't matter! When Lord Gramorr invites you to his table you do not reject it!" Mephisto shouted, "Now come along! Hurry now, his meal is getting cold,"

"No thank you, my lord,"

Mephisto shook. Why did she keep saying no to him!? Did she not know what she was doing? Disobeying a direct order from the master of the house was the epitome of rudeness! How dare she! Just because her entire life was over didn't give her the excuse to behave so poorly. Not to mention the fact that Lord Gramorr was the LAST monarch anyone would want to disrespect.

"Princess Talia, if you don't come out then I will be forced to come in and GET you!" He warned.

"Very well, then,"

Fuck.

"Ok... I mean it!" His voice wasn't QUITE as intimidating as it had been.

"I believe you," Hers remained as calm and stuck-up as ever.

So. Not to be one to have his bluff called, Mephisto took hold of the door knob and using all his might, he pushed into the door, only to be thrown back down the hall a good 3 feet. His backside collided with the tile and he skidded right into a decorative vase. It clattered and clanged as it fell, but luckily didn't shatter. He stood up and tried to teleport inside the room, but ended up just outside the door, only a few inches from where he had landed. Now fully enraged, he pounded on the door.

"You enchanted your door!?"

"I like my privacy,"

"Ughhhhhh! You- you-!"

Talia laughed to herself as she listened to her fiancé's string of curses and accusations. It may not have been her most mature moment, but she relished it nonetheless. It sounded like he was having a full blown temper tantrum and the princess couldn't be more pleased. Suddenly, he stopped and in a hushed sort of voice he started to frantically beg her to open the door, but his tone was so different, like he was scared.

"Ok, jokes over. You need to come out of there now,"

"I told you no. I want to stay in here for the night,"

"It's not funny anymore! Open the door. Hurry!"

Hurry? Was he seriously trying to scare her or something? Please. That may have worked when Izira did it 12 years ago but it certainly wasn't going to work now. She decided to ignore him. Let him plead and cry. She wasn't budging.

"Princess, you have to open the door n-"

"MEPHISTO! What is TAKING so long!?" The gravelling voice of Gramorr sent a total chill down Talia's spine. She hadn't expected him to come. Was that why Mephsito became so freaked out in trying to get her to leave? Did he know Gramorr was coming and tried to warn her?

"M-my apologies, Master..." Mephisto stammered, "But I'm uh... having trouble getting Princess Talia out of her room..."

"Is that so? Then why don't you break the door down and DRAG her out!?" Gramorr exclaimed, making Talia's blood run cold.

"W-well... You see... There's a spell on the door..." Mephisto sheepishly explained, "I can't get it open or teleport inside so..."

Talia moved to stand in the center of her room, her breathing becoming labored and her heart racing faster than she ever felt before. Suddenly, the door began to emit a purple glow and broke into a billion tiny splinters. With no more barrier, she was facing her captors and suddenly she wasn't feeling so stubborn.

"Princess Talia, is there a REASON you ignored my invitation?" Gramorr asked as he crossed the threshold to her room and went to loom over her. A clawed hand reached out and cupped her chin delicately, "I hope you realize I find that quite rude,"

Talia was too terrified to speak. She had heard rumors of how nasty Gramorr could be but she never guessed that he would take offense to something so minor. She braced herself for some type of punishment but before anything more could happen, it was Mephisto who spoke up.

"Ah! Great job, Uncle! Leave it to you to take care of those pesky enchanted doors," Mephisto chimed with a confident laugh in his voice, "Phew. This one didn't a chance. I hope you weren't too frightened, Princess,"

Both Talia and Gramorr stared blankly at Mephisto as he prattled on about the castle being so old and magic drenched that some of the doors become enchanted and can act strange. Why, the same thing happened a long time ago, when he and Lev were playing hide and go seek in some of the tower's rooms. "Remember Uncle? You punished me for 2 weeks,"

"I suppose I haven't checked for magic leaks in this tower for some time..." Gramorr admitted. He looked over at Talia who looked much more at ease than before, "My apologies, Princess. The castle is quite old, but should it happen again, a simple Ateruina spell _should_ resolve the issue. Something my ward should have been able to handle,"

Mephisto laughed nervously, "You uh... beat me to it, My Lord,"

"Th-thank you, Lord Gramorr," Talia bowed, trying to cease the trembling in her hands. The danger had passed and yet she was still on edge. Something about this man seemed so... Unstable. Simply being around her made her queasy.

Gramorr turned to leave, motioning them both to follow, "Now, lets all go back for dinner, I am starving,"

"Uh, Master, if I may..." Mephisto spoke up. Gramorr stopped his pace but didn't grant him the effort of his gaze.

"What is it now, Mephisto?"

"Perhaps we should let Talia rest instead of dinner," Mephisto suggested, "She was quite shaken up when I got to her, after all, and I don't think another audience with Praxina would do much to help her situation,"

Gramorr turned to look over at the princess who was now sporting a genuinely shocked expression.

"Tomorrow. I expect you seated and ready for dinner on time," Gramorr spoke to her clearly and sternly,"Is that understood, Princess?"

"Y-Yes, My lord. It would be my honor," Talia bowed to him and he turned to walk away, leaving Mephisto and she to glance awkwardly at each other. Talia tentatively tucked her hand behind her ear and Mephisto said nothing. Just as he turned to leave her heard the faintest whisper, "Thank you,"

He stopped, gave her a passing glance, and followed his uncle back to dinner.

Inhaling what seemed like her first clean breath in too long a period, Talia collapsed to her knees. Shaken and confused by the evenings events, she wanted to cry. She wanted to lay there and die and be done with it all. But mostly... She wanted to go home.

It wasn't long before servants came to sweep out the broken bits of her old door and replace it with a new one. Talia greeted them as warmly as they worked, and thanked them for their service. As is custom in Xeris, Talia handed each of them a pearl as a small token to show her appreciation. This was not common in Zanavia and the workers seemed puzzled at first, but appreciated the sentiment and went about their way.

Talia had just waved off the last worker before shutting the door. She went to her wardrobe to pull out her silk gown and robe for sleeping, deciding it was high time she got comfortable. Just as she was typing her long blue hair in a white ribbon, there was another knock at her door.

Nervously, she called, "Who is it?"

"Beatrice, your grace," Came the soft voice behind the door. Talia went to it immediately and pulled it open, happy to see a friendly face, though much to her surprise the maiden stood there holding a silver try with a covered plate and glass of wine.

"I brought your dinner, Princess," the maiden announced.

"Oh no, there must be some mistake," Talia began, "I... I didn't ask for any dinner,"

"No, your grace. Lord Mephisto told me to bring it up," Beatrice said as she strolled inside the chamber. She placed the platter on Talia's small table and removed the silver cover from the dish.

"Did he say why?"

"No ma'am," She said, walking back to the brand new door, "Just to keep it a secret he sent it,"

"Beatrice," Talia smirked at her, "Why would you tell me that?"

"I guess I'm just terrible at keeping secrets," She winked at Talia before seeing herself out and shutting the door.

A smile now growing on Talia's lips, she sat down at the table and looked at the meal her fiance had saved for her. Hurely Beast steak with plump forfins and creamed kurbsprouts. Her favorite dish. She gingerly cut at the steak and took the smallest of bites. Though it was good, it didn't taste the same way as it was prepared on Xeris. The Zanavains used a spicier sauce that was thicker as well. She swallowed the bite as even more tears rolled down her face. She picked up the platter, plate and cup and all and tossed it out the window. Yes, she knew he was trying. Yes, she knew he probably wasn't such a bad guy... but he was not what she wanted. He was not her home or her family and he would never be. If her behavior was childish and cruel then so be it. She heard it clatter and clang all the way down until the satisfying CLANK when it hit the bottom, followed immediately by a very unsatisfied wail.

Talia rushed to look over the side. She squinted in the darkness of the evening, trying to make out who she had hit with her meal. Gasping, she realized very quickly that it was none-other than Mephisto and he was flying straight up to confront her. Soon they were face to food-covered face.

"What is your PROBLEM!?" Mephisto bellowed, throwing a glob of creamed kurbsprouts off his forehead. His hair hung limply with sauce, his robes were stained and he was absolutely furious, "What?! Is NOTHING good enough for you!?"

"No!" Talia shouted back at him, "Nothing but my family and my home!"

"W-well this IS your home now! So you better start acting like it!" Mephisto exclaimed, becoming angrier, "There are RULES here. You can't just keep throwing tantrums cos you don't like it here,"

"How DARE you!" Talia gasped, "I lost everything I have ever known! You think covering for me and sending me that disgusting meal would change that!?"

"I... was just trying to... help," Mephisto faltered, the boom in his voice all gone. He looked more than a bit put off, until he realized the weight of all she said. Becoming defensive again, he blurted out, "Wait. How'd you know the dinner was from me!?"

"You just told me,"

"Damn you!"

"Look. I don't need your help! I don't want your pity and I will NEVER be complacent here!" Talia vowed, cutting him off. She was losing her temper and becoming more and more aggressive as she spoke, "No matter what you do or how hard you try. Nothing will make me happy. Nothing will fix this. Your very existence has ruined my life and I'd be better off if you had never been born, so why don't you do me a favor and just DIE!"

Mephisto was taken a back by her verbal abuse. The silence afterward felt so deafening as the weight of the words sunk into every surface around them. Mephisto stared at her with the widest eyes Talia had ever seen, though she didn't care. She panted heavily, her rage seething inside her.

Mephisto clenched his teeth and bit back something vile he wanted to spew from his mouth. He was not the most eloquent of young lords, nor was he the most patient or understanding. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted to say something so crippling and so painful, she'd struggle to recover. He wanted to wound her soul in the way that only words could.

"It's not my fault you are the expendable one to your parents," were the words he chose, and he chose to say them coldly and low. Because that what it was all about, right? All this time she's been blaming both him and Gramorr, when really the blame lay with her own parents who thought their second daughter expendable enough to avoid bloodshed. It wasn't necessarily the wrong option... Royals had to think of the good of the people before anything else... but it meant a wounded child.

Talia's jaw dropped and she shut her window with such intensity, Mephisto was blown back slightly. Oddly enough, that satisfied feeling of having the last word and causing the damage he had wanted didn't... Feel so great. He sighed heavily and shook his head. Why should he feel bad? She started all this. She's the one who was being ungrateful and ugly and rude and saying all the hurtful things FIRST. She's the one who needed an attitude change. Not him! He tried, dammit! He tried like 3 times!

Deciding he needed a drink, Mephisto brushed off the rest of the chunks of food off his clothes and hair and shoulders and flew off to go see Lev.

Meanwhile Talia sat in her room, crumpled beneath the window she had just shut. Her hand covered her face as the tears flowed. The pain she felt inside was overwhelming and she wondered how much more she could let herself endure. How much longer did she have to wait before it didn't HURT so much? She glanced up at the blue crystal framed portrait of her parents. Their smiling, regal faces burned deep into her heart.

Raising her hand she summoned a blue crystal and shot it into the picture, shattering it completely so their faces were all as broken as she felt.

...

Some notes:

Talia is behaving this way because she is deeply hurt. I wanted to make sure I didnt trivialize what she was going through which is why it got so dark here.

All future chapters should be much lighter, I promise. Oh! And be sure to check out my tumblr (Seamarti) to see pics that go with the story!

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

I should have mentioned earlier... if anybody seems OOC its because they have a completely different background as they did in canon. Talia Never had a family to avenge but was still a member of a strict royal family and the twins and Gramorr aren't in an epic battle for dominance so they may seem a bit more trvial than normal.

Hope its not too distracting!

...

The next day Talia spent in her room again, turning away Beatrice when she came for breakfast and dismissing her questioning as to how the platter and dishes ended up outside her window. Talia even refused to get out of her sleeping clothes, opting to lay in bed until that monster decided to call her for dinner. She didn't read, she didn't write... She just laid there, wrapped in the sheets that were now tear stained beyond repair.

Hours went by and the young princess watched the shadows change in her room from breakfast to lunch and even further until it was dangerously close to the dreaded dinner-time. No sooner had the thought of getting up crossed her mind when blue crystal orb appeared before her. A message! From Izira!

Talia cupped the glowing orb delicately as she threw her sheets over her head and the orb together, hoping it would mask the sound. She wants;t sure exactly how much privacy she actually had, but she wasn't about to take any chances. Cautiously, she opened it up. A blinding light flooded under her blankets, causing the princess to squint.

"My beloved sister, Talia... I am sending this message because open lines are too dangerous, but I needed to tell you not to worry," the ghostly Izira said, her voice strained as if she had been crying before, "I will not let anyone hurt you. Mother and Father may have handed you over to that monster but I will not let him keep you. Already I have started communications with our alleys from the other 4 kingdoms. Your friends are loyal and brave and strong and soon we will be formulating a plan to save you,"

Tears were streaming down Talia's eyes, her hand placed over her mouth as she stared in awe of how strong her sister was... And all for her. Maybe she WAS expendable to her parents but not to her sister. Never to her sister.

"In the mean time, I need you to play along with the arrangement, though it makes me sick to my stomach to say," Izira commanded in the sweetest way she could, "Lord Gramorr mustn't suspect you're unhappy or he may catch wind of the plan. Keep him and his drunkard ward happy until we can get to you."

"I understand, Izira," Talia whispered, though she knew the message was pre-recorded and Izira couldn't hear her. It felt... Good to pretend like she was really there. Talia inhaled deeply, shaking her head. She knew her sister was wise and would never ask this of her unless it was necessary. She would do everything in her power to obey the request.

"Be strong, my sister, and don't lose faith in me. I will see you at my side in Xeris once again soon, where you belong," Izira's image faded away along with the orb. Talia swallowed back her tears and wiped away the streams at her face. She let herself have one final moment of solace, just one last heavy ragged breath of morbid solitude...

...

Mephisto made it to Talia's door and he took a second to clear his throat before positioning his fist to pound on the door as hard as he could. Forceful. Fearful. His fiance needed to submit to him, right? Right.

Before he could start his knock, the door flew open and out stepped Talia, dressed in a lovely cerulean and gold evening dress and had a glow about her face as if fresh makeup had been applied. Her magnificent hair was pulled up high and held back by a gold crescent, he assumed it was styled the way it was to show off the back of the dress that was mostly missing... Save a large sapphire trimmed in gold...

It was the loveliest he had seen her. Mephisto was startled, taking a solid step back.

"Hello, Lord Mephisto," Talia bowed respectfully at him, "I was just about to head to dinner, are you headed that way as well?"

Mephisto blinked, "I uh... Yeah. I was coming to get you, actually,"

"Oh, well then, I suppose we better get going," Talia pleasantly decided, "Would you be so kind to escort me to the dining hall? I'm not sure where it is,"

Mephisto eyed her suspiciously, trying to search her face for even the slightest of tells. He found none, just a strangely patient and warm stare that held not a trace of insincerity. This left him baffled and clueless.

"Uh huh...," His mind was blank so all he could do was babble. He quickly shook himself out of it, straightening his back and gesturing her at his side politely, "uh... I mean *ahem* my pleasure,"

Talia gracefully slipped her hand through Mephisto's arm in the gentlelady-like way she had been trained having been brought up being a princess, "Shall we?"

"Uh...I Uh... Of course," Mephisto cleared his throat and together they made their way down the long hallway, both snapping into the motions of the rolls they were brought up to play.

Walking felt strange to Mephisto. Usually he and his sister would fly or even teleport to where they were going. They rarely walked the great distances of the castle because it took so long...

"I could get us there quickly if you'd like,"

"I don't mind the walk," Talia admitted. Was Mephisto imagining it or was that a slight smile playing at her lips? "It gives us more time to spend together,"

Talia wasn't completely lying, mind you. Though she hated them all with every fiber of her being, she knew that she hated Mephisto least of all compared to his uncle and physiographic sister. Don't misunderstand, she hated Mephisto as well, but of the three he seemed the... Nicest. Though finding the nicest of those 3 would be like finding the quietest of the Voltan Princesses. Talia was certain one HAD to be quieter than the others... but they were all still quite loud.

Blood rushed to Mephisto's head. Why was he so embarrassed by her statement? It wasn't like HE had said something so intimate and flirtatious. Wait. WAS she flirting with him? What the hell happened in those few hours since she was shouting his head off?

"Uh... ok,"

The walk was long and uncomfortable for them both, though you'd only guess it for Mephisto. His features were scrounged and unfocused, where as Talia's graceful, calm facade was impermeable from the deciphering gaze. He was frantic. His stomach was knotted like a fist and he kept clenching and unclenching his free hand, making sure to keep it out of her sight.

Talia knew. She didn't have to see it. She just knew.

"It's supposed to rain tonight," Mephisto said dryly, desperate for something to say, though he felt stupid for saying it. They were in Zanavia. It literally rained 4 times a week.

"Is that so, my lord?"

"Ah... y-you don't have to call me that," Mephisto faltered, a faint blushing appearing on his face as he scratched lightly at his cheek. In truth, he had never escorted a lady as lady-like as Talia before. Most of the girls he had woo-dead didn't need a long escort to anywhere, anyway. They were much more interested in quick and easy trips. And there had been plenty for him to practice on. Granted, If he was talking to Lev he'd admit a lot more than he had, and if he was talking to Praxina it'd be a lot less. Regardless, having a woman of higher birth refer to him as "my lord," was more than enough to make him uneasy.

"Whatever would you like me to call you?"

"My name would be fine,"

"So familiar," Talia mused, "I suppose it can't be helped, I should probably get used to saying your name, we to be wed, that is,"

Mephisto didn't know what to say to that, he tensed up. But there was something about her sugary-laced tone that didn't sit well with him. Why was she suddenly so agreeable? Why was she acting so nice? Was she under a spell? This was not the same woman he had spoken to earlier in the garden. This was someone completely different.

"Ok, what's the deal?" Mephisto stopped in his tracks, unhinging his arm from her grasp. He gave her a stern look, trying to find any trace of insincerity.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Before you could barely be in the same room as me! Now you're hugging my arm and being all sweet and talking about the wedding. What gives?" Mephisto folded his arms over his chest and glared at her.

"My apologies, My Lord- I mean, Mephisto," Talia's hand clasped eachother tightly and she popped her shoulders to do her best to look guilty. Bashfully, she cast her eyes downward, using the same tactic she had on her father while growing up, "I owe you several apologies for my behavior. I was quite ugly to you yesterday... And that was unfair. Neither of us had a say in this... so I guess, when you think about it, you and I are alleys in this situation." Talia looked up at him to make direct eye contact with him, "Or atleast... we should be,"

Mephisto's eyebrow raised inquisitively.

"I won't lie to you, I'm scared," She admitted, placing her hands over her chest to where her heart is. She put on her best performance as she craned out, "But... That's no excuse to treat you the way I did. You're just as much a victim in this as I am and I... should be nicer to you,"

Mephisto cocked his head to the side, unsure of what to make of her.

"I just humbly ask for your patience with me,"

A long silence passed between them. Talia was dying from the stress. Was he buying it? Or had she come on too strong? Was he suspicious? Honestly it was hard to read on his stone serious face. It was obvious that he was listening and processing everything she had been saying but...

"Man what a relief," Mephisto finally sighed. A big smile formed on his face, "I'm so glad we're finally on the same page. Hey! That's probably a good sign, right?"

It took Talia a moment to brace herself for not falling over. How could one of the Zanavian heirs be so pure? Or was THIS a trick, too? One could never be to sure with this lot. Talia eyed him a bit suspiciously, trying not to drop her own farce.

"I mean... an arranged marriage? What is this? The Cokizan Era?" He snickered, the joke was good enough to earn an honest chuckle from Talia as well, "Don't get me wrong, you're very beautiful and I could only be so lucky to marry a princess but... I'd like to atleast KNOW the person I was marrying, and I'm sure you would, too..."

Talia blushed at his comment, "True..."

"I mean, after last night I was really worried. I mean, you ARE pretty but you're still not pretty enough to get away with how nasty you were acting," Mephisto laughed, and Talia's eye twitched as she forced herself to laugh at his insulting joke. It took everything in her core not to shove a crystal down his throat until he gagged.

"So I guess... I can be patient with you if you can be... Patient with me?"

"Yes... That sounds... Yes. Most agreeable," She sighed, happy that the plan worked... For now. So long as she could keep her cool, this all should work out.

"Well then... Hello, Princess, I'm Mephisto," He offered his hand to her as a sign of good will. Talia felt herself quite intrigued more and more by her intended. She shrugged her shoulders lightly and took his hand to complete the handshake.

"Call me Talia,"

...

Praxina and Gramorr sat at the long dining table in silence, their meals growing cold and their tempers reaching their peaks until they heard the faint sounds of laughing coming from the corridor Mephisto had disappeared into earlier. Sure enough, out of the shadows came the couple, strolling side by side. Mephisto was casually telling a story about the time he and Lev tried to make a Hurly Beast trap and ended up getting caught in it themselves, Talia giggling at the details in the most charming of ways.

Gramorr, quite displeased with the couple cleared his throat quite aggressively. Talia and Mephisto snapped out of their laugh-fest and dashed to their seats. It didn't go unnoticed to his sister that Mephisto neglected to pull out Talia's chair, or even escort her to her seat. No, the two seated themselves next to eachother, directly across the table from Praxina.

"Most sincerest of apologies, Lord Gramorr," Mephisto said, "We must have uh... Lost track of the time,"

"I am growing quite tired of these excuses, I told you both to be on time," Gramorr growled. He turned his attention to Talia and clearly told her, "This will not happen again. I do not care how you're feeling, dinner is mandatory in this castle, is that understood?"

"Y-Yes, My Lord," Talia bowed her head sheepishly. That man terrified her, "I won't let it happen again."

"See to it that you don't," Gramorr sat back in his seat and took hold of his fork to begin his meal. The rest followed suit with Praxina not taking her eyes off her brother and his fiance. They sat directly across from her, sitting side by side. Praxina leaned forward to whisper to them.

"What took you so long? Spook-alia introduce you to her ghost pals?" Praxina taunted, earning a placid look from Talia and an eye roll from Mephisto.

"For your information, Praxina, Talia and I were getting to know eachother a little better," Mephisto whispered back, taking a large bite of his stew.

"Ew, I think I lost my appetite!" Praxina gagged in a hushed voice, pushing her dish. Talia blushed heavily and Mephisto started to choke on his bite.

"N-n-NO! Not like that!" Mephisto coughed, his voice becoming higher pitched, "We were just talking! Talking!"

"MEPHISTO!" Gramorr shouted, "What are you blathering about!? You know I expect total silence while eating my meal!"

Mephisto sat back in his seat and apologized to his Uncle once again, sticking his face low towards his meal. Talia and Praxina watched him, both amused by his outburst. Praxina snickered lowly to herself as she at her meal with the satisfaction of getting yet another rise from her brother.

"Permission to speak, Uncle Gramorr?" Praxina put on her sickly sweetest voice, earning an apprehensive look from her brother and a nervous one from Talia.

Gramorr groaned, "What is it, Praxina?"

"We haven't even discussed the wedding date yet," She said, looking back at Mephisto and Talia, "shouldn't we get a move on that if we're to have any credibility? We took poor Princess Talia from her home, we wouldn't want anyone thinking we're treating her poorly now would we?,"

Both Mephisto and Talia gasped and exchanged worried glances. Gramorr hmmed to himself and nodded his head, "I suppose there's no reason to wait,"

"But L-L-Lord Gramorr!" Mephisto slammed his hands on the table and jumped up to his feet, rocking his bowl of stew, "It's so soon! Talia's only been here two days! She hasn't even seen the rest of the castle yet!"

"The Princess will have plenty of time to get used to her new home, Mephisto," Gramorr excused, "Praxina brings up a good point. Until she has our name she is still a Xerin and the treaty has not been completed. Besides, the longer we wait the longer her family has time to back out of the deal. Or do something... wreckless,"

Talia tried to remain neutral, but felt herself twitch involuntarily at Gramorr's last line.

"Well yeah, but-"

"The wedding will take place in one week from today," Gramorr decided, motioning for one of the serves to take his food, "I'll send word to the other kingdoms and have the staff begin the preparations immediately. Mephisto, in the mean time, do what you can to familiarize your princess to our customs. I want her to be a glowing representation of Zanavia by the time of the wedding,"

"Uh... is that all Necessary, sire?" Mephisto nervously chuckled, "I mean, isn't she fine the way she is-?"

"NO SHE IS NOT FINE THE WAY SHE IS!" Gramorr shouted, "Enough with your backtalk! I want her OUT of those tawdry Xerin clothes and behaving like a ZANAVIAN! If we are ever to move forward with the PLAN she must have the image of one of us!"

"Plan?" Talia chimed in, "What plan?"

The table looked back at her as the hush fell onto the room. Talia suddenly felt extreme dread as the setting dawned on her. Gramorr grumbled as he turned to leave, "Do as I say, Mephisto. And while you're at it, please remind your bride of her place,"

As the dark lord made his leave of the room, the three teens sat in an awkward silence. Talia was more than baffled as she looked between where Gramorr once sat and at Mephisto.

"My place? What did he mean by that?" she asked, her voice sounding quite offended.

"Talia..." Mephisto started, but his sister interrupted him with a malicious glee only she could muster.

"Xerins don't talk at the table,"

...

After dinner Mephisto walked Talia back to her room, though this time, she followed silently behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at her, watching her eyes dart about the floor. It was obvious she wasn't looking at anything, but was very deeply lost in though. Of course they both knew the wedding had to be SOME time, but the unknown aspects of it made it seem... Less real.

Mephisto was no good at comforting others. He always made a mess of things or said the wrong thing or avoid saying the right thing. Also what business did he have trying to cheer her up anyway? He wasn't in love with her. Heck, he didn't even like her. His previous earlier attempts at kindness towards her obviously backfired because he simply didn't know enough about her.

So maybe he'd try letting her get to know him .

"So uh..." Mephisto started, Talia stopped in her trance and looked up at him, "Do you wanna go get a drink?"

Talia's eyes narrowed and she folded her arms over her chest, "Is that your solution to every problem?"

"No!" he exclaimed, "I just thought... I don't know... You had a rough couple of days... And maybe you'd like to say fuck it all for a minute,"

Talia knew of Mephisto's reputation. Klatznik, nearly every girl in the 6 kingdoms did. He was a slacker. He was a goofball. He liked to party and he was a bit of a lush. In truth, she always wondered how long it would take for him to try after-school-special her into his ways. Talia liked keeping her wits about her. She liked being in control. Which was why she simply wasn't much of a drinker.

But now she wasn't in control. Now she was a mess. And the thought of numbing some of what she was feeling definitely had its appeal.

With a deep sigh Talia relented her stern posture and shrugged her shoulders carelessly.

"I suppose just one drink wont hurt,"

Mephisto chuckled at what she said, and she didn't have the energy to question it. She simply turned to walk back to the dining hall.

"Where are you going?"

"To the dining hall," Talia responded, incredulously, "Where else to find a servant to fetch us some wine?"

"Talia, Talia, Talia," Again he chuckled at her, strolling over to her with a saunter that Talia did not find charming in the slightest. He took a moment to pause, let the silence sink in as if he were about to shatter everything she knew with what he was about to say. This also did not amuse the blue princess.

"This, as you may have noticed, Is a miserable place." He began, gesturing to the area around them, "No one is happy here, unless they are making someone ELSE miserable," He paused in his lesson as a thought crossed his mind, "oh, remember that for when Gramorr quizzes you on Zanavian stuff,"

"Noted," Talia's eyes rolled.

"Now, Zanavia is my country. My heart and my home," He fell back into step, pacing around her like a shark, his arms gesturing like a pompous professor, "But if one is to drink, one must drink to forget his misery. You can't forget it if you're inside it,"

Talia smirked as she sarcastically asked, "Oh So what are you suggesting? We sneak outside the Zanavian border?"

Without saying a word, Mephisto did an abrupt heal-turn to face her. He snapped both his hands and pointed his two index fingers at Talia to indicate she was correct.

"Wait. Are you serious?" Talia blinked, her smile completely gone, "We can't just leave the country. We can't even leave the castle,"

"I assure you we most certainly can," Mephisto bragged, brushing his knuckles on his chest, "But what we can't do is leave with you looking like that,"

"This?" Talia's eye twitched as she did nothing to hide her offense, "This is my nicest dinner gown,"

"And if we were going back to the royal misery dinner, it'd be perfect. But we are going to fun drink place where people who have NO dinner gowns will be," Mephisto explained. But Talia's frown only deepened at him. Groaning, Mephisto rubbed his eyes, "Here like this,"

In a flash of green light Mephisto's royal garbs were nowhere to be seen, instead clad in a pair of worker boots, a hooded vest and trousers with actual pockets on them. No sign of his symbol or usual color scheme.

"See? Nothing to it," He modeled for her.

"I don't even know what I'd wear to something like this," Talia pouted.

"Not you. Someone else,"

"Ok. I guess I'll give it a shot..." Talia reluctantly agreed. She opened her palms to produce her magic circles. With a bright flash she was changed into something that made Mephisto almost fall on the floor in laughter.

Standing in a floor length shimmering cape and a pair of mens trouser, Talia felt like a giant fool.

"WHAT!?" she bellowed, her face burning red with embarrassment. Mephisto could hardly breathe as he tried to compose himself. His production only fueled Talia's rage, "I've never done anything like this before! I don't even know what a common person would wear to something like this because I don't even know where we're GOING!"

She had just turned on her heels to leave, but Mephisto, admist his dying chuckles, grabbed her wrist.

"H-Hold on, hold on, it's just... Here, let me," He raised his hand, conjuring his own green circle that wrapped Talia in a new outfit that seemed much more... Appropriate, "There, not too shabby if I don't say so myself,"

Talia caught her reflection in the glass from the window beside them. A simple navy cloak over a long sleeved dress that only went to mid thigh along with booties and long stockings. Blushing, she yanked on the hem of her skirt. The only thing she wore shorter was her battle dress, which she only wore when training with Izira in their private courtyard.

"People are going to see me like this?" Talia blushed.

"Not you, remember?"

Deciding it was best to wait and see what her fiance had in mind for her, rather than argue, Talia turned to face him. It wasn't like they could just leave the country without getting caught, anyway. After all, Gramorr's castle was one of the most heavily fortified one on the planet. There were guards everywhere.

"Ok. So what's the plan?" Talia asked, "Lemmie guess, there's a secret tunnel you carved out with a spoon?"

Mephisto didn't even answer the girl. He simply gave her a bemused smirk and put his hand on her shoulder. In a flash of green and white the two vanished from their spots in the hall way. And completely out of Zanavia.

...

When Talia felt solid ground again beneath her feet she was standing in front of a cozy but decrepit looking shack on a rocky beach. The air smelled like salt and there was the faintest sound of music and horrible singing coming from the warmly lit building. A cold breeze swept by and Talia shivered, happy Mephisto included the longer sleeves and stockings in her outfit.

"Are we... in Calix?" She asked, looking around and noting the beautifully carved boats resting at the dock. Talia had heard stories about the people of Calix. They were warriors, brave and strong. But they were also wreckless and dangerous. The Calixian ambassador to Xeris was easily the loudest, boorish and ugliest man she had ever met.

"Right again, Princess."Mephisto grinned, walking towards the door, "This happens to be the best watering hole in all the 6 kingdoms," just as he spoke, a man came flying through the door and landed face-first on the rocks followed by a rousing chorus of cheers and laughter from inside that boomed so loudly, the building shook, "and it sounds like the party's started without us, lets go!"

Mephisto grabbed her hand and pulled Talia inside, despite her protest.

...

See! I told you it'd get lighter!

I hope you're liking it!


	4. Chapter 4

I literally cant stop.

Is anybody even reading this? Lol. j/k

Hope you guys are liking it!

...

"MEPHISTO!" The tavern patrons shouted in unison as the duo bolted inside. Mephisto waved affectionately as the walked, making quick small talk to each of the patrons they passed on their way to the bar.

"Hey there, Kublab! Woah, Farill- watch that helment. RORARK! How's the missus?"

Talia followed close behind, eyeing the people around her very intensely. It looked like everyone was having lots of of laughter and singing and, of course, drinking.

"Wretched SNAKE!" Suddenly, cutting through the roar of the collective crowd came an intense battle cry and before Talia knew what was happening, a purple-maned woman armed with two clubs had tackled Mephisto and had him pinned to the wall knocking over a table on the way. Liquor and nuts spilled everywhere, "How DARE you show your face here again!"

"What can I say, I'm a daring guy," Mephisto glowered.

"And who is this girl with you!?" The woman barked, turning to look at Talia, who stared, dumbfounded, "What? has he captured you-"

Before she could finish her question, Mephisto took advantage of her attention being away. He gave her a swift elbow to the face that knocked her back onto a DIFFERENT table, knocking it over. Surprisingly, the entire room erupted into a cheer.

Talia's head was spinning. The strange woman wiped her mouth and laughed, Mephisto helped her up and the two clasped hands to make a solid fist together, "Dor'ielle, Mephisto! That was dirty,"

"Oh like YOU ever play fair,"

"There is no 'fair' in battle," The woman chortled and picked up a random stein of beer from a large boulder of a man. She downed half of it in only a moment before shoving it back into the hands of the man she had taken it from. She then put a hand on Mephisto's shoulder, "The usual then?"

"Make it two, I have a guest tonight," Mephisto laughed. He turned his attention to Talia, "Talia, this is my friend, Carissa,"

Talia faltered, "The princess of Calix?"

"The one and only!" Carissa boasted. She strolled over, taking Talia's hand and dropping to her knee. Crystal blue eyes met Talia's that shined with a charm Talia was not aware existed. With a single arched brow, Carissa placed a kiss on Talia's knuckles and said, "Never thought another princess would ever be in my tavern... but one as lovely as you, I could definitely get used to it,"

Talia blushed intensely at her statement and Mephisto swooped over to wrap an arm around her, "Save it for the princess of Borialis, Issa"

Carissa rose to her feet and gave Mephisto a light punch in the arm. She ushered them back to where the bar was and had them all take a seat. Though the room was crowded, everyone was quite polite and moved out of their way. And it was very obvious that they treated their princess as an equal... she was very well loved here, but more like the most popular kid in school, and less like an almighty royal.

"Well, well, well, look who's on a first date with his wife," After taking their seats, a familiar face turned from the bar to give them a coy smirk. It was the silver haired man from the party! Talia remembered him trying to help the very drunk Mephisto to his feet.

"Uhhh... The wedding is in a week, Lev. So Fiance, not wife," Mephisto drawled, "Get your shit together together, bro,"

"Woah. One week? You guys are sure moving fast," Lev noted, "You must be really hitting off,"

"Oh you know," Mephisto shrugged, taking a salted poplop berry from a bowl sitting on the bar and popping it in his mouth, "When you're young and have literally no say in your life..."

"Still, I don't know if I would call this a date," Carissa nudged Mephisto teasingly, "It doesn't look like she's having much fun,"

"She just needs a drink," Mephisto assured. Her turned to smile at Talia warmly, "But you're right, it's not a date,"

Talia remained silent, but in truth, it was... nice to see the man she thought so lowly of, the man who lived in the worst place in the world, had a place to go where real friends were. Sure they were... lewd and... bizarre... but they were all very close. It reminded her of her good friends, Iris and Auriana.

"Well then... first rounds on the Zanavian," Talia was snapped out of her train of thought when a large stein of frothy beer was slid in front of her from Lev. The Xerin Princes picked up the heavy glass and gave it a once over.

The other three were engaging in a cheer and were looking to her expectantly. Talia lifted her glass to theirs, letting it clank lightly. She watched as the three friends all chug down their massive drinks only to throw the stein to the ground so it would shatter. Talia did her best to follow suit and took the hardiest of gulps, but couldn't bring herself to continue.

"Augh!" She bleched, resisting the urge to spit out what she just put in hr mouth. It was bitter and had a burn to it.

"Not a fan of the taste, princess?" Lev asked.

"It's awful," Talia wiped her mouth, earning laughs from the group.

"You'll get used to it," Mephisto assured, taking another sip. Talia's nose curled and she winced.

"I highly doubt it,"

...

3 hours later and Talia had just slammed down her last finished stein of beer on the bar. A chorus of cheers erupted and the Xerin was feeling less stable than usual, but boy did she enjoy the dizziness. It felt like she was swimming... but without the water.

"I am the GREATEST!" She boasted, earning another cheer from the warriors of the bar. Talia had NO idea why she had been so nervous. These people were GREAT! Men and women shouted and cheering everywhere. No classes, no roles to play. Everyone was just having fun and celebrating each other. No feat was too small to earn celebration, "Another, Lev!"

Mephisto, who had been pacing himself quite well, grabbed the glass empty from Talia before she shattered it to the ground.

"Having fun yet?"

"I had no idea drinking could be this fun!" Talia laughed, clearly more than light headed. Mephisto watched in amusement as his fiance swayed gently to and fro.

"I had no idea you could HAVE this much fun," Mephisto teased, taking the glass that Lev set in front of Talia to take a sip from it. Talia gasped melodramatically and took the glass from his hand.

"I'll have you know I am BUCKETS of fun. NO! Barrels!"

"Barrels huh?"

"Oh yes. I am oodles of fun,"

"Oodles now?"

Talia shoved him playfully, laughing very hard, "You know what I mean!"

Mephisto chuckled, shaking his head. He had hoped the princess would lighten up a little, but he hadn't expected to see an entirely new side of her. She was bubbly, she was silly. She was laughing at everything and didn't once complain about the music or the smells. She was, honestly, having a good time.

"Do you need another drink?" Talia asked him, "You haven't had one in forever!"

"Nah, I've got a good enough buzz going already. I'm takn it easy tonight," Mephisto shrugged, his elbows propped up on the table so he could help himself to the small plate of bedris nuts, "As... magical as my birthday party was... I don't wanna recreate the night we first met just yet,"

Talia burst out laughing again, "Your birthday wasn't the night we first met, dork,"

Carissa and Lev, who had been having their own conversation about a certain GREEN princess from a beautiful island country, couldn't help but overhear and suddenly found themselves leaning in to hear the story.

Mephisto looked stunned, "It wasn't?"

Talia chuckled, "No! it was 5 years ago! At princess Auriana's Shanila Celebration,"

Mephisto had taken the worst time to try and take a sip from her drink again, because he almost choked. He hadn't realized Talia had been there.

"YOU were at Princess Auriana's Shanila?" He gasped and Talia laughed, nodding her head. Mephisto took a moment before he gasped, "You... You weren't there when...?"

"You crashed and burned?" Talia finished for him, "Oh yeah. I was-"

"AH!" Mephisto stood up very quickly, knocking over the beer and the bowl of berries, "That was why...! You were... Did you know we were betrothed back then!? Oh Melzors, did Iris and Princess Auriana know!?"

"Of course,"

"So THATS why...," Mephisto flopped back in his seat, eyes wide like saucers, "All this time... I never knew why they got so mad at me..."

Lev and Carissa were loving everything that was happening. Mephisto's horrified face at the recounts of what was the most humiliating moment of his life, and how plain and gleeful Talia was as she remembered.

"Tell this story," Carissa urged, grabbing onto Talia's arm, "PLEASE tell this story! I Must know!"

"Lets not," Mephisto interrupted, trying to maintain his dignity.

"Better yet..." Lev decided, performing the crystal dormis spell.

A gold light shined at the table as Talia's and Mephisto's memories collided and made a small show for their audience to see.

...

"TALIAAAAAA!" A pixie haired voltan squealed as the Xerin stepped out of her carriage. Talia was tackled by the young Auriana, jingling bells and ornaments creating a clamber of twinkles and clanks, "I am so glad you made it!"

Talia smiled warmly at her friend. She didn't normally like hugs from the orange princess (only due to their frequency) but she was happy to be there, "I wouldn't miss it. Sorry I'm late though, I couldn't decide what to wear,"

She wasn't kidding. Though a royal shanila celebration was always a formal affair, Auriana had decided she wanted her party to be more like a carnival. Lots of rides and games and yummy foods being handed out at various stalls and vendors, and later there would be a crystal-works show!

"You look great, though!" Auriana exclaimed, "that Mephisto is one lucky young lord,"

"Not so loud!" Talia hushed, "You know that's supposed to be a secret! I only told you if you promised not to tell,"

"Right, right," Auriana's eyes rolled, "But why does it have to be?"

Talia shrugged, "Honestly, Auriana, I'd rather not think about it,"

"Well... that's gonna be hard cos... I invited him,"

"YOU WHAT!?"

"Calm down! The Zanavian's almost NEVER attend anything. He probably wont even come," Auriana giggled. She took Talia's hand, "Come on. Iris has been trying to win a stuffed animal at this one game... but Jodan keeps casting spells for her to miss without her knowing. Its hilarious,"

Meanwhile, a young Mephisto was prepping himself in the wash room. He was extremely nervous to be meeting the young Voltan princess. Auriana was, in his opinion, the prettiest girl in the 6 kingdoms. She was cute and funny and full of so much energy. He was especially excited because normally, being the new wards of Gramorr, he and his sister rarely got invited to things, and the Voltans knew how to throw a party.

It was no secret the REASON Zanavian's never attended these sort of parties were because they were seldom invited. Worst of all, Praxina and Gramorr were both extremely introverted and preferred to send a gift with their congrats, rather than simply attend when they WERE invited. But this was one invitation Mephisto would not pass up.

Knowing Gramorr would never let him go alone, he had pestered Praxina long enough to go along with him, and had even made her help him pick out something to wear. He felt sharp. He felt dashing. He felt... like he was going to puke.

"You ok?" Praxina asked. Though she HATED parties, and Volta as a whole... she reluctantly decided to come along, if only to see her brother make a fool of himself. But, in all honesty, she'd rather not have him moping for who knows how long if his plan backfired, "We can always just ride the rides and enjoy the carnival,"

"I'm great!" Mephisto bragged, "In fact, I was just about to go thank Princess Auriana for the invitation, and congratulate her on her shanila,"

Prax snorted, "You sure about that?"

"I'm not just sure, I am positive!" Mephisto bolstered. He gave himself one last one-over in the mirror before turning to leave. The duo walked across the long field covered in Voltan decorations and guests. The music was lively and the smells were absolutely intoxicating. Though Lev suggested they grab something to eat, Mephisto ignored him and continued on his mission.

When they found Auriana, she was with two other princesses, one from Xeris and the other the crown princess of all Ephedia. They were taking turns at a ball tossing game, laughing when one missed and cheering when one made it.

Along with them was a curvaceous woman with fiery red hair and dawned in purple guard clothes. She wore the crest of Ephedia on her chest, marking her a high ranking soldier in the Ephedian army.

As Mephisto and Praxina approached, the soldier took a firm step in their direction, her arms held out in a defensive position, "Not you two, again!"

Mephisto paled, recognizing the woman as Ellira, Iris's personal body guard and care taker. The woman was powerful, indeed, and before Gramorr had taken him in, he had the misfortune of getting on her bad side once or twice.

"It's ok, Ellira, you remember, Mephisto and Praxina," Iris lovingly said, "They're Gramorr's wards now,"

"I know..." Ellira frowned, her eyes narrowed as she eyed the boy curiously. She didn't say anything else, but she allowed Mephisto to proceed along.

"It's nice to see you two again," Iris said sweetly. Being the daughter of the highest power of the entire planet did not corrupt Iris's good nature. Like most people, Mephisto liked Iris's company. She didn't make him feel bad for not being a high-born or being adopted. She was fun and easy to talk to, as well.

"Hello, Princess Iris,"

"You can drop the titles, Mephisto," Iris giggled, "We're friends,"

"Sorry... It's still so weird,"

"I didn't know you guys knew each other," Auriana chimed in, giggling a little bit as she glanced over at Talia, who was blushing from ear to ear and trying to look away.

"Mephisto and Praxina used to live with us in the castle, you know, with the others kids," Iris explained, earning an aggressive eye twitch from Praxina. And Mephisto felt his mouth get dry. He hoped this conversation wasn't headed to where he thought it was.

"Oh right! You mother takes in orphans from all over Ephedia, right?" Auriana remembered, "That's just the sweetest thing!"

Mephisto started to panic, but he didn't know what to say. It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion.

"Yeah, it's pretty great... Mephisto worked in the garden and Praxina in the kitchen. The three of us used to play together all the time," Iris continued to explain, "Actually, you met Mephisto once when you came to visit, Auriana,"

Mephisto's blood ran cold instantly. Oh Iris, NO! Don't bring up THAT day!

"I did?" Auriana tried to remember.

"HEY! Why don't we uh-" Mephisto tried to change the subject but the love of his life's green eyes lit up and she interrupted him.

"That's right!" Auriana laughed, "You were the goofy servant boy who fell in the creek!"

Praxina had heard all she could of this. Growling she turned to storm off, not caring what happened to her bother and those stupid, uppity princesses. He could stand there and let them talk down at him but she certainly would NOT. Why he even wanted their attention, anyway, she'd never know!

"Hey, where's she going?" Iris asked, concerned for her old friend, "I was hoping we could catch up,"

"Uh... she's just going to get um... something..." Mephisto gulped, his heart pounding in his rib cage. He glanced up at Auriana who was looking at him with a smile. Even with all her hair lopped off, she was still the prettiest girl he had ever seen. He had fallen for her the day they were speaking about, and he had been too nervous and flustered to impress her back then.

And now it seemed like history had repeated itself.

For years now Mephisto had been told to feel nothing but shame for his former life, despite how happy he had been, it was very obvious that no one in Ephedia of the Royal status had such humble origins, and he would surely be looked down upon because of it. The thought of Auriana thinking he was orphan-trash made him want to die... But, everything Iris had said was true. The royal family of Ephedia took in orphans from all over the planet and gave them jobs and a place to live. He and his sister traveled all the way from Zanavia to work there after their mother...

In truth, Mephisto had loved his life at the Palace. But it was still a lowly life to have had...

"So, Mephisto, how have you-"

"Iris! Don't you think Lord Mephisto here would like to speak to someone ELSE for a second," Auriana smirked, giving Talia a very slight nudge, "Maybe someone very special to him,"

Talia shot her an enraged face that said 'you will NOT live to meet your next stage of magical development,' and Mephisto's eyes lit up like starlight.

"Oh, of course, pardon me," Iris giggled, taking a wide step to the right to allow better view between Mephisto and Talia, but in doing so, she also gave him better view of Auriana as well, cementing the boys confusion.

Mephisto's heart soared. Of course, it was obvious to everyone there that the young Voltan meant Talia but poor Mephisto, still naive to his marital fate, could only assume she meant herself and thus the love stricken, hormone filled young lord did something that would humiliate himself.

Talia, meanwhile, exhaled deeply. She looked over at the boy who was still quite a bit shoter than she (Not that she wasn't USED To being the tallest in her peer-group, but still) and she noticed he wasn't looking at her at all, But at Auriana. His face was a bright red and he looked completely frozen with fear. The attentive Xerin also noted the slight quake in his palm.

Suddenly, she felt better. Clearly the boy was JUST as nervous and put off by what Auriana did. He was just a kid... just like her. This made Talia ease up a little, helped her not feel quite SO bad about all this. Maybe they could be friends. Maybe... maybe even...

She shook the thought away as she cleared her throat and pushed back any residual awkwardness. She took a step towards him, offering her hand to casually shake, rather than bow. The added formality would have only made it worse, right?

But JUST as she opened her mouth to say, "It's nice to meet you," Mephisto had summoned all his courage to make his move, and involuntarily interrupted her.

"Y-Yes, Princess Auriana, you ARE most special to me!" Mephisto blurted out without the slightest of hesitation, "Would you do me the honor of going o-out with me!"

And suddenly, everything got a lot worse. Everyone gasped, and the tension got thick enough, it could possibly be seen from space!

Mephisto finally noticed the tall Xerin offering her hand to him, she had stopped mid-motion and when their eyes met, she pulled back a little.

It didn't take long for Mephisto to realize he fucked up. His face turned almost as red as his hair, both the Voltan and Ephedian Princess's shocked faces became angry. Talia looked frozen, like a statue. She couldn't believe how... how insulted she felt.

Mephisto became frantic, trying (and failing) to keep his voice from cracking as he attempted to correct his blunder, to the best of his ability.

"I uh... I mean, I know we can't really 'go out' on a date or anything... i know there's rules about that... but maybe I could escort you to-"

"Mephisto!" Iris exclaimed.

"What is this!? Some kind of joke! Honestly, you've got SOME nerve!" Auriana scolded, thoroughly breaking his heart. She took Talia by the hand and pulled her along, "Come on Talia, he's not your problem yet,"

Iris held back, glaring at her friend. Mephisto was so confused, but was far too heartbroken to try and put the obvious pieces together. He looked at the pink princess and she told him, very clearly, "I am really disappointed in you,"

She turned around to leave, Ellira in towe. Mephisto stood there, alone and feeling like the smallest person in the universe.

...

"That was BRUTAL. How did I miss that! I was THERE That night!" Carissa exclaimed as the vision faded, laughing at her friends agony.

"Too busy chasing Princess Lyna around?"

Carissa smirked, "yeah, probably,"

Talia was giggling and Mephisto had his head buried beneath his arms in agony.

"I had no idea why everyone so mad at me... ugh... this is horrible," Mephisto groaned.

"It's not THAT bad," Talia giggled.

"You know Iris still wont talk to me," Mephisto chimed.

"Well, we all thought you knew. Can you blame her for being so upset?" Talia laughed about it, clearly no longer hurt by the events, "haha. You looked like SUCH a-"

"Dorpsblah," he muttered, "I know,"

...

When they arrived back at the Zanavian castle, silently, and directly into Talia's room, Talia let out a small cheer, followed by a startled laugh. She hadn't realized how loud she had to be at the tavern until they were back where it was so quiet.

"woops," She giggled as Mephisto shhhed her.

"Ok, get some sleep. We... we have a lot to do tomorrow," Mephisto said, starting to make his way to the door, but Talia stopped him but summoning a roaring fire in the fire place.

Mephisto froze. He looked over his shoulder at Talia, who was practically glowing now in the light of the fireplace. She stared back at him though half-lided eyes that looked dreamy and glazed with drunkenness, but also shone with a bit of mischievousness that made a lump form in Mephisto's throat.

"I'm not ready for bed yet,"

Mephisto felt his face getting hot.

"Could you stay a little bit? I promise I'll be quiet,"

What in klatznik was she asking? It couldn't have been... what it sounded like... could it?

"Uh... what do you wanna do?" He turned around to face her completely.

With a mischievous tone she assured, "You're not the only one who likes to break the rules," Talia gave him a devious smile and suddenly every fibre of Mephisto's body began to tense up. I mean... he would never... she was so drunk, after all... but damnit, she was kind of hot when she was trying to... to...

She pulled him over to the bed and had him sit next to her, a big grin forming on her face...

"Talia..." Mephisto breathed, "What are we doing...?"

"My sister Izira and I used to sneak in each others rooms at night and read to each other," Talia snickered, "WAY after bedtime. Our mother would have been SO disappointed if she caught us,"

Instantly the air of sensuality that Mephisto imagined vanished as she yanked off both her shoes and curled her legs under her. She then grabbed a book off her nightstand and held drew a big fluffy pillow to sit in her lap.

Mephisto's heart simultaneously rose and fell. While his ego took a bruise at not being desired sexually by the princess, it was probably that sweetest, lamest thing he had ever heard.

"Wow, you guys sure were sneaky," Mephisto drawled.

"I know!" Talia gleefully agreed, opening up her book, "This one is a book of Mid Century Borialian Poetry that focuses heavily on the tea ceremony revival,"

"That sounds... fascinating,"

"Oh it's simply wonderful," Talia swooned, "There's even a few by Soradollo the Serene. I'll read them to you,"

If Mephisto had to make a list of things he'd rather do than listen to ancient Borialian poetry about tea ceremony revivals (whatever that was) it would contain nearly every conseivable thing Mephisto could THINK of. EVen some things that would cause him eminent pain.

And yet...

He sat there, head propped on his hand, listening to every word read. Talia's voice had a smoky texture to it that made everything she spoke sound melodious... so while reading poetry it nearly sounded like a song and Mephisto began to wonder if Talia ever sang. He bet she'd be pretty good at it, if not.

So for the half hour they sat there, Talia reading and Mephisto listening. It was the longest time in awhile he just...listened to someone. He didn't want to interrupt her. He didn't want to break the melody coming from her mouth.

Damn.

He must have drank more than he thought. No way he was as sober as he felt.

"And should my wife meet her end

Or be forever lost at sea...

I will not shed a single tear

while drinking crystal flower tear," Talia finished the limerick and shut the book with a satisfied smile on her face, lost in what she thought was something beautiful and sincere, and Mephisto was too, in a way. But not because of that stupid poem. What was that garbage?

The serene moment was shattered when she popped up, "OK! Your turn!"

Mephisto was caught off guard, "What? Me?"

"Of course! I read a book, now it's your turn," Talia explained, she gestured over to the modest bookshelf to their left, filled to the brink with history, spell and philosophy books. There were even some medical journals in there as well. Basically... all boring, "I have a bunch. Pick whatever you like,"

Mephisto gave the books a glance before deciding, "I'm not feeling much like reading. Maybe we should just go to bed,"

"No!" Talia pouted, "You have to! Please!"

He sighed, knowing that if he chose a book from her library he'd put himself to sleep while reading it. But if he didn't appease her, she could easily wake the whole castle and they'd be found out, "What if I just told you a story? Would that be ok?"

"YES!," Talia brightened up. A story was even better! She settled herself in a comfy position and let him know she was ready.

Mephisto told her a childrens story he knew growing up, about a little snake and butterfly who lived on a star. They didn't get along all the time, but they loved each other very much. And even though the snake could easily eat the butterfly, and the butterfly could have just as easily flown away from the snake, together they remained. Until one day... The snake fell off the star and got lost. So, the little butterfly went out to search for him.

As the days dragged on, the butterfly soon became so filled with loneliness and misery she turned bitter and cruel, forgetting how beautiful she was inside. This went on for many years.

Then, one day, after years of being apart, the snake found the butterfly... He, too, had bee searching all this time for her, and had become very sad and frustrated. But when he saw her, she had changed so much he didn't even recognize her. The butterfly, who was a little smarter than the snake flew over time him, so happy to see him... and once she got close enough, he ate her. The end.

As soon as Mephisto ended the story a pillow collided with his head.

"THAT WAS HORRIBLE!" Talia shrieked, "Why would you tell me such a sad story!?"

Mephisto chuckled, "yeah... I guess it's kind of a downer, sorry about that..."

Talia shivered and squeezed her pillow to her chest, her face pouting, "Where did you even hear such a depressing story like that anyway?"

Mephisto thought for a little while, debating weather or not he wanted to answer the question. He usually didn't when it came to the topic... but the girl was to be his wife... and he DID decide to try and let her get to know him better so...

"Our mom used to tell it to us... Praxina and me,"

Suddenly Talia felt more sober than she had ever been.

"She wanted us to remember to stay together and be there for each other... cos she knew she was...uh..." Mephisto's voice trailed off, "Not going to always be there,"

Talia pulled her legs in close to her chest, hugging her knees tightly. She didn't know what it must have been like to lose a mom. And since he was adopted by Gramorr ten years ago, that meant that his mom must have died when he was still quite very young.

Talia couldn't bring herself to look at him when she whispered, "May I ask... what happened?"

Mephisto's brow furrowed as he looked across the room towards the small fire place. The log inside it was nearly all burned up so the once blazing flame was only smoldering cinders. He exhaled lightly and shrugged.

"She got sick... everyone got sick..." He said like it was the simplest thing in the world. Recalling that time was difficult, not just because of the pain it brought him, but because it was simply hard to remember. So much had changed. So much had happened since that time... "The healers called it 'Malnura virus' and quarantined our entire village... medics and healers from all over the planet came to try and help but nothing was working. People were dying and no one knew why but we all knew we all had it and it was only a matter of time...

One day, after 3 months of quarantine, my mom was walking with us back from the market, and she collapsed. The first sign of the body shutting down... Praxina and I took her home, put her in bed and did our best to take care of her... but she died after about a week. We were 6.

And then... a week after that... Praxina and I were carrying water back to our hut and I collapsed,"

"What happened?" Talia gasped.

"I died,"

"Mephisto!"

"Haha, no, I'm sorry. It's just... I don't really know what happened, exactly. I heard Praxina scream and the next thing I remember is waking up in a hay cart leaving Zanavia with Praxina hovering over me. She was crying really hard and was just happy that I woke up." Mephisto shrugged his shoulders, "When we got to a healer he found I was healed.

I always wondered what she did... how she saved me... but she's never told me. I guess it must have been something pretty bad... she doesn't talk about it,"

"But... then what? What'd you do? Where'd you go? Were you really only six?!"

"Heh. We didn't exactly have any place to go, so we just kind of wandered around... During a particularly hot day, the royal procession carrying the Queen and her daughter rolled passed us. I'm not sure where they were coming from, but the queen got us out of the sun and gave us some water. I guess she felt bad for us and offered us to stay in the castle... It didn't seem like something I wanted to do but, between you and me, I think Praxina had a thing for Iris... So, we went with them and thats where we met Lev. He worked in the garden with me,"

"And how did you meet Gramorr?" Talia was now completely transfixed on her fiance's history, and the strange thing was that Mephisto found he didn't MIND telling her about it. In fact, it was probably the first time he told anyone the story. For whatever reason it felt... natural telling her all this.

"Oh, that's the crazy thing," Mephisto started, "We were just these orphans working at the castle, right? And one day, Lord Gramorr came for a visit to work on the treaty with the King. He saw me working in the garden and asked me how a Zanavian ended up in Ephedia. I told him the story and next thing you know he's signing over his inheritance to Prax and me. I guess he was just really touched by our story or something,"

Mephisto sat back on his hands, thinking about everything that had happened in his life with a bit of of a smile on his face. Honestly, he didn't really think much of his life before very often... It was nice to recount the details.

Until he heard a sniff.

Panicked, he turned to see Talia's face buried into the pillow on her lap. Her shoulders tremored and she made a slight choking sound. She was... oh NO.

"T-Talia, are you ok?" Mephisto reach over to touch her shoulder but was shocked when she tossed the pillow aside to lunge towards him. Sitting up on her knees, she wrapped both her arms around him, sobbing loudly on his chest.

"THAT was the SADDEST story I have EVER heard...!" she sobbed, "and I once read the Tragedy of Kurbos the Morose,"

"But... you were fine the whole time I was telling the story,"

"Well yeah, but it was just a story..." She sat back away from him, wiping her eyes a little, "But after you were done... I was just thinking about how... it wasn't just a story... that was your life... and it was SO SAD," again, she collapsed on his chest, crying deeply into him.

Mephisto didn't know what to do. He had never had to console a sad person person before... Lev got weepy after too many sometimes, but handling a crying bro was completely different from a... fiance. Right? Ok, maybe not but sure felt awkward as hell... Or maybe it was because it felt strange to console someone crying out of how bad they felt for you.

Mephisto took a second to ask himself if he should be offended...

He decided on, no, he shouldn't. Wasted Talia was a mess.

"Ok, I guess we know 10 drinks. That's your limit," He said, patting her gently on the back. Soon, her sobs wove themselves into... heavy rhythmic breathing. Mephisto blinked. She didn't...

"Talia...? Talia. Talia, did you just fall asleep crying on me?" He asked her.

He received no response, only the soft sounds of the princess of Xeris sleeping heavily.

Groaning, he shook his head.

"Good night, Princess..."

...

back stories are fun.

Be sure to check out my tumblr

for all the pics that go with the fic!


	5. Chapter 5

...

When Talia awoke the next morning she instantly regretted being a morning person. She hesitated opening her eyes as the sun tickled at her nose. She had a headache the size of the voltan forest and she was _so_ exhausted. She decided she would sleep a bit longer... especially since her pillow was so warm and firm...

Very firm...

Actually, she'd go so far as to suggest it was rather hard. She snuggled into it absent mindedly, musing in her half-awake thoughts... yep. Best hard pillow in all Ephedia was right here, and boy did it smell good...

... and it was breathing.

A golden eye cracked open and Talia leaned as quickly as she could. Beneath her was none other than Mephisto, dozing the morning away on his back... one arm tucked behind his head, the other draped around her. He still had on his tavern clothing, including a shoe...

In fact, she too was still dressed as the night before. Though both her shoes were missing along with her cloak.

They were both laying atop the fully made bed that barely had a wrinkle on it. Talia didn't freak out. She could remember everything about the night before. She remembered going with him to Calix, meeting his friends, drinking quite a bit... she remembered returning home and telling each other stories... She remembered it all. All up until...

She started crying and passed out on top of him like a baby.

If Talia wasn't certain a face-palm wouldn't have woken the young lord, she certainly would have done one. How embarrassing! Poor Mephisto must have not known what to do with her! She was certainly happy her sister couldn't see her now.

"Princess, Talia, are you awake?" A knock came at the door. It was Beatrice! Frantic, Talia shook her fiance. Mephisto inhaled loudly as he woke up, his eyes blinking in the sunlight. Talia made sure to hold a finger up to her lips to keep him quiet, but responded to Beatrice quite loudly.

"Uhhh just a second, _Beatrice_!" She called out as Mephisto suddenly realized all that had happened. He propped himself up on his shoulders and in a flash of green and white he was gone. Talia, who had still been leaning against him, fell face-first into the sheets.

"What was that dear?" Beatrice said as she let herself in, quite puzzled by the sight before her. Talia sat up as gracefully as she could, straightening out her short dress and trying to smooth out her stockings.

"Oh! Hello Beatrice," Talia laughed, scratching the back of her head, "Good morning,"

Beatrice frowned at the princess and carried the silver tray over to Talia's small table. Once it was set down she looked the Xerin up and down twice as she walked over to the bed where Talia had been found belly down. The seasoned servant ran her hand over the blankets and checked her glove. There was a distinct green shimmering residue. A smirk played on her lips as she looked back over at the princess.

"Who do you think taught that boy that trick?" Beatrice asked. Talia paled Beatrice dusted her hands and made a beeline for the door, "Now, if you'll excuse me, Princess, I need to speak with your fiance immediately about something I thought he understood,"

"B-Beatrice, wait I..." Talia stammered as she chased hesitantly after her.

...

Mephisto was back in the safety of his room and he breathed a sigh of relief. That sure was a close one.

Yawning, he shook himself a bit. He was still so tired but there was no way he could sleep after that shock. Still... snuggling all night with the princess wasn't near as comfortable as it should have been. He was on his back the whole time... and still had a freakin' shoe on.

He pulled off the hooded vest and shirt and let himself stretch a bit. His neck cracked and he let himself yawn one more time.

No sooner had he let his mind wander to what he was going to do today to get Talia all 'zanivan'ed' when he heard the blood chilling sound of a certain pair of sensible heals clacking with fervor towards his room. He knew that sound all too well. It was coupled with what sounded like the muffled, frantic ramblings of a certain raspy-voiced princess...

Suddenly, his door was thrown open and Mephisto let out a yelp as Talia finished the sentence she had been in the middle of... but stopped when she saw the shirtless young lord in his room. Blushing, she turned her gaze away very quickly.

"Lord Mephisto!" Beatrice started. Mephsito hesitated for a moment, but remembered that she was NOT his nanny anymore! He was 18 now! He was a man and a young lord. He had FIANCE now for goodness sakes. She was NOT the boss of him.

"WHAT is the meaning of this insolence... Buh-Beatrice!" It would have come off better if he hadn't stammered.

"No, My lord, what is the meaning of THIS insolence?" Beatrice demanded, gesturing to the young princess. She pulled Talia inside and shut the door firmly, making sure no one outside the room could hear, "I know what you did last night, young lord!"

Mephisto paled and Talia started rambling again, still avoiding looking at Mephisto as much as possible.

"N-No you don't! Thats what I've been trying to tell you," Talia kept going, "Nothing... I mean, we didn't..."

"Your majesty, please, I am no fool," Beatrice silenced her. She kept her eyes on Mephisto,"We've discussed this Lord Mephisto, too many times. You CANNOT keep doing this! I know you think it's all in good fun but it's simply reckless at this point,"

Talia tensed for a minute. Her eye twitched at the gravity of what Beatrice was saying.

"If your uncle found out, I don't even know what he would do!" Beatrice continued, "Not to mention the disgrace it would bring to Princess Talia,"

Mephisto took in the older woman's criticism, letting the weight of her words hit him fully. Talia could stand it no longer, pushing back her revulsion of the "many girls" he and Beatrice had discussed, she exclaimed.

"We didn't have sex!"

Both Beatrice and Mephisto nearly snapped their necks to look over at her. Beatrice looked horified and Mephisto's jaw dropped into a big smile, clearly finding what she said absolutely hilarious. Talia got very self conscious and shifted the weight of her feet.

"I mean... we uh... we didn't," Talia stammered.

"That was the funniest thing that has ever happened. Wow. I need to save this," Mephisto snapped a quick picture of both Beatrice and Talia's awkward faces and looked at it admiringly, "Instant classic..."

"Your majesty... I know you didn't..." Beatrice clarified, clearly made flustered by the bluntness of the Xerin princess, "But I also know you two left the castle and got drunk somewhere. Let me guess, Calix?"

"Ding ding," Mephisto chimed, spinning to lounge in his big comfy chair, a leg swung over the side, "You can relax, though, no one even knows,"

"You don't know that!" Beatrice ushered over to him, slapping his leg so it fell off the chair and onto the floor where it belonged, "And worst of all you put your fiance in danger! You need to get serious,"

"OK! I wont take her out, again!" Mephisto exclaimed, "Geeze. We just wanted to get some air!"

"Next time you want some air, take a walk in the garden, INSIDE the walls," Beatrice scolded.

"Sounds great! Will you pack us a picnic?!"

"NOTHING would make me happier!"

"FANTASTIC! Don't pack any gorbin roots! I hate them!"

"Gorbin roots are GOOD for you. You want your hair to fall out before you're 120? No? Then eat gorbin root!"

It became clear that their fight became joking very soon as they were smiling through their shouts. Beatrice gave Mephisto a ruffle on top his head and reminded him he needed a washing that day. His hair was oily. And she patted his face like a mother would.

"Ok, Beatrice,"

Talia smiled watching them. She wondered if Beatrice had children of her own or if Mephisto was the only child she had ever known. They were clearly very close... Beatrice being comfortable enough to speak to Mephisto in such a way and Mephisto actually lamenting and listening to her without once commanding her to silence, as is his right and within his power. Talia was certain she had seen servants fired or worse for infractions of a much less offense.

Beatrice bid them a farewell before leaving and Mephisto huffed, loudly.

"She really loves you," Talia told him and Mephisto exhaled out of his nose.

"If you think that's something you should see her send Praxina to her room without supper," He smiled wide, "After I'm Lord of Zanavia... I'm gonna give that woman the biggest room in this entire castle and take away all her feather duster privileges,"

"Will I need to worry about her mother-in-lawing me?"

"Oh she'll be the reason you divorce me, for sure,"

"Just her, huh?"

Mephisto shrugged, "I'm pretty irresistible,"

"You sound pretty confident in that,"

"You're the one who's been staring at my chest for the last 10 minutes,"

Talia blushed as she flinched, "I... No. I... I mean, I'm looking at you... cos you're talking to me... not cos I... I..."

Mephisto turned to look at her, finally and smiled at her in a charming way that upset Talia.

"Good bye," She grumbled and slipped out the door. Laughing, Mephisto called to her to put on something more appropriate for their big day of Zanavian culture class. She blushed the whole way back to her room. Though she told herself it was because she simply hoped that Praxina wouldn't see her walking back from her brothers room in something so casual and revealing...

She knew there was another reason... but she couldn't place it.

...

Talia met Mephisto in the parlor with three note books, a writing scroll, six quill pens and her hair tied back and out of the way. She had unpacked all her things at a long table that was low to the ground. Seated on the comfiest little floor pillow. Beatrice even brought some tea for the two to share while they studied. Talia was ready to learn... even if it was something as droll as Zanavian culture...

When he saw her and all the things with her he chuckled, "What is all this for?"

"Our lesson," Talia deadpanned.

"Ugh... you're SO bookish," He rolled his eyes, flopping down on the floor pillow by the low table she was sitting at.

"How else am I gonna remember everything?" Talia asked him, "Your uncle expects me to a Zanavian icon..."

"He just wants you to submit to his way of thinking. He's just a control freak,"

Talia hesitated asking the question she dared not ask. She still wanted to know what Gramorr had meant what he said at dinner about a plan. What plan could he possibly have outside of forcing them to get married? Wasn't THAT the plan? To unify their realms and declair peace between all the kingdoms? Would Mephisto know? And if he did, would he even tell her what it was?

"Look, all you need to know about Zanavian culture is stay away from the black mud, and if someone insults you, you are protected by law if you encase them in crystal," Mephisto droned, "There. Lesson over, I'mma go get a drink,"

"Hold on," Talia exhaled, "You guys have all kinds of etiquette rules. What about bowing from the middle when you greet someone? And never walking directly in front or behind someone?"

Mephisto raised his eyebrow, "How do you know all that stuff?"

"I've had ten years to learn this stuff, you know," Talia commented, "What did you think? I'd come here without having a clue about what I was getting into? I've read nearly every Zanavian book I could get my hands on,"

"Well. The student has surpassed the master. Drink? Drink!" Mephisto threw his arms up as he stood, stretching a bit. Talia scoffed and Mephisto rolled his eyes, "Like I said, Uncle just wants you to look the part more than anything. When people ask you where you're from, say Zanavia is your home now... when you go to dinner wear Zanavian dresses. You know. Superficial stuff,"

"Superficial stuff?"

"Zanavians are ALL about superficial stuff,"

Talia snorted and muttered under her breath, "Yeah, no kidding,"

"What was that?"

"Why are you being like this? We have a job to do," Talia was losing her patience with the slacker, "All you care about is drinking,"

"No, I just DON'T care about teaching you stuff you clearly already know," Mephisto countered, "What's even the point of that? It's stupid!"

"It doesn't matter if you think it's stupid. We still have to do it, so lets just get it done," Talia argued. She then went on to point out, in great detail, that reading about a culture was hardly the same thing as doing it in practice. What if some of the customs she read were outdated? What if she missed a book or two on something potentially insulting? How would she know if he didn't HELP HER!?

She also may have thrown in a few negative words that could have been intentionally insulting her future husband, though definitely not as bad as her first day, it was still frustrating for the young lord that here they were again... bickering.

"Look, if I wanted to be yelled at by someone, I'd go to Praxina... or Beatrice," Mephisto told her, "I don't have to take this. Good luck with Gramorr at dinner,"

In a flash he was gone and Talia yelled at the thin air, "YOU'LL BE IN TROUBLE, TOO YOU BIG IDIOT!" Seriously! How did he not REALIZE that?

Ok. _So what_ if they had one semi-nice night? The only parts she enjoyed were when she was so drunk she started acting like Auriana. Why she thought they'd suddenly get along NOW is beyond her. It didn't matter anyway, soon Izira would be there to save her.

Except... Izira didn't know the wedding was only in a week...

Because Talia hadn't told her, yet!

Talia rose to her feet and dashed down the hall back to her room, but when she turned the corner she stopped in her tracks. Lord Gramorr was walking towards her. She immediately bowed at the waist and stammered, "Oh! Lord Gramorr, my apologies... I didn't see you,"

"You are forgiven, child," he said softly, "Tell me, are your Zanavian lessons over so soon? Or is my nephew slacking off again?"

"N-No, My Lord... Mephisto just called a quick break so I could uh... powder my nose," Talia covered for him, "We're definitely getting the work done,"

"Is that so?" Gramorr asked her. Talia gulped, nodding her head obediently, "I certainly hope you're not lying to me... I'd hate to be disappointed in you yet again,"

"As would I, Lord Gramorr..." Talia stammered nervously as the tall man crossed her path and continued down the hall.

Taking a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, Talia continued on her path to her bedroom.

Once inside, she locked her door and very quietly performed a crystal message spell. A small blue ball formed and she whispered into it.

"Izira, I got your message, but you should know, Gramorr is impatient about the treaty being fulfilled. He's decided to have the wedding precisely one week from yesterday. And that's not all... he mentioned at dinner that the wedding is a part of some plan. His wording made it seem like it's unrelated to the treaty... But I don't know anything else about it. I'll try to learn more and let you know what I find," Talia spoke. She dropped her serious facade and let her face fall into something much more sincere and mourneful, "I know it's dangerous for us to communicate about this... and I know you're very busy trying to save me but... I could really use another message from you... I just want to see your face again... I miss you so much. But... I'll understand if you can't,"

Shutting her eyes, Talia felt the stinging sinsation of tears teasing at her eyes. She blinked them away and finished her message, "I love you, be safe," and with a kiss, she sealed the message and walked over to her window. She held out her hands so the message was sent off. She watched it float away for awhile, until her thoughts were broken by the sounds of someone casting a spell.

She looked down at the garden below and saw Praxina practicing on one of the small islands. She was casting battle spells, summoning large crystals in large formations. Talia watched her in awe. It wasn't often she got to see someone other than Izira training... and in all honesty, Talia wasn't sure if any other Ephedian royal did such a thing.

Well... other than Carissa, probably.

Praxina took a step forward and shouted a spell Talia couldn't hear (being in a tower and all) but what she saw shook her to her core. Red and black crystals formed in a twisted state to make what looked like some kind of monster. The creature roared in agony and took two frantic steps before collapsing in a heap. The spell didn't work... or atleast... not completely. The beast was ALIVE but... it was pathetic and weak.

Praxina became physically angry and with a wave of her hand the creature shattered into a billion tiny pieces and vanished.

Dark crystal magic was forbidden in ALL of Ephedia, even in Zanavia. Not only that, it was extremely dangerous to the user. Creating sentience out of crystal was cruel and inhumane... Praxina was committing treason of the highest order just for PRACTICING it.

Praxina seemed to feel eyes on her and turned her head to look towards Talia's window. Luckily, Talia's reflexes were as sharp as ever and she ducked out of sight before Praxina's head had full turned to face her. With her heart pounding, Talia quickly crawled over to her bed and shuffled about the blankets, frantically searching for her book...

Luckily, she found it and was able to strike a casual reading pose before Praxina had flown up to her open window.

"Oh, hello, Praxina," Talia tried to fein easiness, "Fancy seeing you here,"

Praxina's arms were folded over her chest. She glared deeply at Talia, trying to figure something out. Talia remained vigilent in her composure, cocking her head to the side.

"Can I help you with something?" Talia asked inquisitively, dropping her cheeriness as not to seem suspiscious.

"They train you how to fight in Xeris, correct?" Praxina asked her. Talia blinked.

"Of course... I've been sparring the royal guard and my sister since I could walk," Talia stated flatly, "Why do you ask?"

Praxina turned her shoulder to her, as if inviting her to follow, "Come with me. I could use a workout,"

Talia froze. Was Praxina playing her? Did she know what Talia saw? Was this a trick to get her alone and in a situation where an 'accident' could happen? If Praxina was able to fight with black crystal, then there was no telling WHAT she could do... Talia had never seen black crystal before (other than in the pages of her history books) much less knew how to fight it. And in truth, other than the colorful wording of how expressly it was forbidden, there wasn't much research done on the subject... supposedly to keep people from finding out HOW to do it...

"Thats not a problem, is it?" Praxina asked, clearly confused by Talia's hesitation. She smirked competitively at Talia, "if you're scared, I promise not to beat you too hard, if you promise not to send a ghost after me,"

"Its not problem at all," Talia frowned as she shut her book, "lets go,"

...

Talia found herself in a large training arena room that would have put her father to shame. It was huge! Big enough to create crystal structures as tall as a tower... and covered wall-to-wall with weaponry of all kind.

"So... what kind of practice did you have in mind?" Talia asked, rubbing her gloved hand to knead out a pesky sore muscle she had recieved from years of wand work. She surveyed Praxina closely as the latter formed two red fencing swords out of shimmering red crystal.

Not dark crystal.

"I was hoping you'd indulge me in a bit of fencing today," Praxina mused, "Sound good?"

Talia smirked, summoning the wand of Xeris and twisting it just so the ends became sharp like cycles. She spun the staff expertly to get a quick stretch before the match, keeping her eyes locked on the lady of the castle.

"en garde, Praxina,"

...

Nearly an hour later, Mephisto just so happened by close enough to the training hall where he heard a familiar sound of his sister's battle scream followed shortly by the clanging of blades. He ran down the hallway and poked his head inside to see something he was not expecting... His sister and fiance engaged in a rather... intense sparring session.

Intense as in it didn't look like either of them was holding back... and there were several clusters of blue and red crystals all over the place, also both girls were sporting several scrapes and tears in their battle dresses.

But honestly, he didn't know who he was more impressed with...

On one hand, he had never seen anyone push Praxina to her limits and get her going like this, and Talia was certainly having no trouble matching Praxina blow for blow... but on the other hand... It looked like Praxina was playing fair for once.

So good for them both.

"Crystal offensio!" Talia shouted, but her voice sounded shaky as if she was getting tired. Praxina dodged the blast successfully by flying hard to the left, but was clearly getting tired as well, because she didn't see the large clump of red crystal sticking out of the wall and her head collided with it so hard she screamed before falling from the air and crashing on the solid ground below.

"Prax!" Mephisto exclaimed, rushing over to his sister. Talia gasped, letting go of her staff and letting it dissipate. When Mephisto made it to her, Praxina was getting up on shaky arms, rubbing her head where it was hit. Mephisto dropped to his knees by her and put his hands on her shoulders, "Are you ok? Can you stand up?"

"I'm fine, don't make a fuss," She grumbled, but she let him help her up to her feet. Talia made her way over to them, expressing her concern, "Ugh. Its not a big deal, ok? I just got careless,"

"I can't believe you didn't see it," Mephisto commented, looking up at the massive red crystal, "That thing is huge! What did you summon it for? A shield?"

"Actually, it was an offensive spell," Talia corrected.

"Seriously? What? No wonder you were getting so worn out," Mephisto teased lightly, "Why would you waste so much energy like that?"

"I said I just got carried away! Lay off!" Praxina defended, shoving herself away from Mephisto and adjusting her cape that had become crooked. She then started for the door, rising to fly as she left, "You two better get ready. Dinner is in 30 minutes,"

She left them alone and Mephisto looked at his feet and chewed on the corned of his lip. Worry wracked his features, but in a puzzled way. Talia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"She uh... she always this intense,"

"Heh, Prax has 2 settings..." Mephisto's thoughts stirred and as if flipping a switch. He smirked casually. Talia was shocked she caught it... but it dawned on her that Mephisto wore an invisible mask nearly all the time... hiding his innermost concerns and fears, "Annoyed and Intense,"

Talia processed what she had seen, but returned a smile to him to not let him catch on to her thoughts.

"Well she... She's really quite good. Honestly she almost beat me a few times," Talia chuckled, deciding to play along with him for the moment, "her spells are... very powerful,"

"Tell me about it," Mephisto shook his head, "She's always been the powerhouse of the two of us,"

"Maybe you should practice more,"

"Hey, she may be the muscle, but I'm the brains,"

Talia snorted.

"No really. Did you know you're looking at the only sorcerer in all Ephedia who was able to pull off a successful Crystal Viviorlo spell?"

"Really? How many drunk were you,"

"Very funny," Mephisto's eyes rolled. He scratched the back of his neck and his expression changed, "So... about earlier..."

Talia stopped and looked over at him, "Mephisto, I have to get ready for dinner,"

"Oh, allow me," He perked up, casting another clothing spell. Once again Talia was wrapped in his green magic and in a flash she was there standing in a dark purple and grey dress with a high collar. Very Zanavian... very not Talia. Sighing, she smiled reluctantly.

"You gotta stop doing that," She sighed, but smiled reluctantly, "But I suppose I didn't have anything your uncle would approve of..."

"We'll get you some clothes of your own," Mephisto promised, "I just wanted to... you know... let you know that I know I kinda blew you off today..."

Talia frowned, "And?"

"And... you're right... I should be helping you with all this,"

"So you're trying to apologize?"

"How am I doing?"

"You have to say it first,"

"Oh I don't think I could manage that,"

Talia's eyes rolled, "Well... I guess I did promise to be more patient with you... and I definitely lost my temper. I'm sorry for that,"

"You're right!" Mephisto snapped his fingers at her, "I guess we're both equally at fault,"

"What? No, you still-"

"Nope. We're even. My hands are clean. We really both have a lot to work on if this marriage is ever gonna work, Talia," Mephisto joked, "Honestly, Talia, I don't think I can deal with this level of dishonesty this early in the relationship,"

Laughing, Talia gave him a shove as she laced her arm about his so they could walk together to dinner. She didn't know how he kept doing it... but somehow he had a way of getting to completely forget the situation she was in. Some how, this goofy Zanavian was able to cause her moments of complete and total freedom of her loneliness and suffering. She was supposed to be pretending to be laughing and enjoying his company, and yet here she was... forgetting to pretend and just... doing it.

She must have been better at this than she thought.

As they walked out of the arena, a red crystal caught Talia's eye as it disappeared into nothing and her thoughts went back to what she saw in the garden.

"Mephisto..." Talia was trying to choose her words carefully, "Have you ever seen anyone using dark crystal magic?"

Mephisto's eyes rolled, "Look, just cos we're Zanavian doesn't mean we use forbidden magic. It's illegal to use here, too, Princess,"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Talia quickly explained, not meaning to sound so racist with the way she asked her question.

"Then how did you mean it?"

"It's just..." Talia trailed off, knowing it was a risky question, but she had never been one to beat around the bush, "Earlier... when she was in the garden... I'm sure I saw Praxina try to summon a dark crystal monster,"

"Praxina? Are you serious?" Mephisto seemed honestly put off, but not in a way that seemed offended, "You musta been seeing things, Praxina knows the law,"

"I know what I saw," Talia muttered but Mephisto heard it just fine. He stopped their procession and looked her straight in the eye, all signs of jest or mirth completely void of his features.

"Listen to me, Talia, because I need you to hear me," Mephist said gravely, but not because he was angry with her. He was just making sure she took him seriously, "Ancient dark crystal magic residual in the soil was the cause of the Malnura viris that wiped out our village. Praxina would never, ever use it. So I don't know what you saw, but it wasn't what you think. Understand?"

Talia decided to nod her head in agreement and lie directly to his face, "I'm sorry, I... I don't know what I was thinking,"

"Well..." The light tone in Mephistos voice came back as he gave her his arm back so they could continue their trek to dinner, "Praxina does like to practice with different, and sometimes weird spells. Maybe that's what it was,"

Talia avoided looking at him, afraid if she did she would reveal how uneasy his words made her. She wared inside her mind to believe weather Mephisto was as naive to the information as he seemed, or if he was simply trying to manipulate her into doubting herself.

And honestly, she didn't know which would be worse...

"Yeah... maybe..."


	6. Chapter 6

The following day had started off the most uneventful yet. Talia simply woke up, had her breakfast, exercised for an hour, then waited for Mephisto in the parlor. After another 3 hours, he finally rolled out of bed and dragged his half-asleep self to her, where he sat down and entertained her desire for knowledge.

Despite the rocky start, Talia was surprised with out effective a teacher he was. He paced himself very well, though sometimes he could get carried away on a tangent, he kept things simple enough and only really elaborated when she had a question.

They broke before lunch and planned to meet for more after dinner. In their time away from each other, Talia spent it in the garden, practicing spells and battle moves. Mephisto had intended to sneak out, but caught a glimpse of his bride-to-be in the garden from his window, and couldn't help but watch her work...

Dinner was eaten in total silence, save for a few whispered jokes from Mephisto to Talia that made her struggle to stifle her giggles. They also caused Praxina to groan in disgust.

So, After dinner, Mephisto kept his promise and met with Talia again, back in the parlor, sitting at the short table, trying to remember anything she may need.

"Oh, uh, another thing," Mephisto yawned, "If a married couple comes to meet with you for any political reason, you have to address the one of higher birth first. Man, woman, doesn't matter, whoever was born luckier...,"

"Ok... that should be pretty easy to remember," Talia said, jotting it down, "Anything else?"

"Yeah... oh. And walking side-by-side with a married person is bad, too... so don't do that,"

Talia's quill suddenly stopped as she let the words he spoke sink in.

"So... after we're married I won't be able to walk next to _anyone_ else?"

Mephisto's eyes widened, as if he hadn't realized it, either. He cocked his head to the side as if he was thinking of something really important. Talia watched the gears turning in his mind, and wondered if he was trying to come up with some sort of joke or sarcastic remark for such a silly rule. When he finally did speak, he kept his half-lided gaze forward, and spoke in such a plain way, keeping his attention on the wall, rather than her.

"I mean... I wouldn't care... if you wanted to, you know, _walk around_ with someone,"

Oh!

"I mean... I'm all for keeping the peace in Ephedia and all but... It's not like this is a real marriage or anything, you know?" Mephisto was clearly uncomfortable, but Talia found herself quite touched with what he was trying to say. She couldn't help but tease him, however, just because of how uncomfortable he was.

"You just wanna run around on me,"

"THATS NOT WHY I SAID THAT!" he finally turned his gaze to her, completely offended.

"Sure its not,"

"Talia...!" Mephisto whined, clearly very flustered. Luckily, he pushed passed it and just got angry, "Look! I don't know whats gonna happen... but Gramorr is, literally, the only person who wanted this... so... You know, when he's gone... and me and Praxina are in charge- you and I don't _have_ to stay together... if we don't want to. I'm not gonna start a war over it,"

Talia smiled, looking at her notebook full of Zanavian facts.

"And in the mean time, I guess... I just don't want you to have to give up every part of your life for this. We may be forced to get married but we get to have a say in _what_ kinda marriage we have, right?" Mephisto was finding his words a bit better, "I'd like it if we could be friends and all, but... I won't expect you to love me, you know?"

"Wow...that sounds... really nice, actually..." Talia told him, "I... I can't tell you how much I appreciate that,"

They smiled at each other for a moment, just happy they were in agreement on something. In truth, Talia could potentially see a friendship with the young lord possible. She certainly enjoyed him when he wasn't acting like a baby... And to be honest, his little tirade just now only showed her that he actually respected her... Not only did he tell her he wasn't going to pressure her to do something she wasn't comfortable with, but he would also encourage her to find happiness...

That certainly sounded like a friend, didn't it?

"And hey! If we find people we like, we can always just have them pretend to be married to each other, so we can all hang out and no one would suspect,"

"Oh now _thats_ a good idea," Talia joked back, "better yet, lets just hire them to work in the castle and have them cross dress so he can be my chamber maid, and she could be your page boy,"

"Ok, I know we're both kidding right now... but that's seriously kind of hot,"

"Pig!" Talia blurted, and they both laughed as she tossed one of the notebooks at him.

"I see a lot of work is getting done, here," Beatrice entered the room, walking right over to the crystal-sonophone and placing a small record on the turn table, Mephisto and Talia exchanged confused glances as music filled the room.

"Uh... Beatrice, can you listen to your tunes somewhere else?" Mephisto asked her with a grin, "We're trying to work here,"

"Princess Talia, it's my understanding that Lord Mephisto has neglected to teach you the Zanavian Waltz yet," Beatrice ignored him and walked over to Talia, taking her by the hands and pulling her up towards her. Talia stammered something of a response, claiming that they had been busy. Beatrice responded that, be that as it may, she would need to be able to do the steps for the wedding, it was expected at the receptional party. She then glared at Mephisto, "Haven't you told her ANYTHING about the wedding?"

"Well uh... I taught her which hand to-"

"She has her whole life to learn THOSE customs, my Lord. The wedding is in 5 days. She needs to have the ceremony memorized," Beatrice scolded him, "Now get up here and lets begin the lesson. You could stand to brush up on your moves as well,"

"My moves are just fine, Beatrice!" Insulted, Mephisto shot up from the floor, arms straight out at his side and his cheeks puffed with air like a pouty child.

"Very well," Beatrice stepped aside with a knowing smile, "Teach your bride how to dance,"

Mephisto hesitated for a brief moment, catching Talia's gaze. He huffed once his nerve caught him and held out his arms in the position so she could step into him. Talia did so, awkwardly, not sure what she was supposed to do with HER arms. Mephisto helped her with that, placing one in the crook of his arm that draped about her back, and clasping the other in his hand delicately. The space between them got much smaller and Talia could feel heat coming from him.

"Just uh... Follow my lead," Mephisto ordered and Talia nodded. Beatrice watched with amusement as the young lord to the first step, only to place his boot square on Talia's sandal clad foot. She screeched and they separated sharply, "I told you to follow my lead!"

"I don't know what that means!"

"It's just like any waltz!"

"We don't waltz in Xeris!"

"...Really? You don't?" Mephisto was surprised, "Then... what do you do?"

"The Xerin Salii, of course,"

"Princess, just try to follow his movements and keep in line with him," Beatrice explained, "When he steps towards you, you step back. When he sways to his left, you sway to your right,"

"So I just follow him around for this dance?" Talia questioned, clearly irritated.

"That's why it's called _leading_ ," Mephisto boasted, holding out his arms again for her. This time, Talia stepped in line correctly, though she did roll her eyes. He pulled her in, this time, maybe a hair closer, "Think you can handle that, princess?"

"I only promise to try," She smirked.

Mephisto took the first step, but Talia was ready for him. She stepped back, keeping an eye on his feet he whole time. As they moved, Talia began to get a hang of the pattern and the rythym and she needed to watch his feet less and less. Suddenly, her foot got crunched again, though not nearly as hard as the first.

"Sorry! Sorry! That was me that time!" Mephisto exclaimed, settling them both back down, "I uh..."

"Went the wrong way," Talia frowned.

"Went the wrong way, yeah..." Mephisto blushed as they moved along, "You're uh... really quite good. I'm guessing you guys dance a lot in Xeris,"

"Culturally speaking, no. We don't... but, I like it quite a bit," Talia told him. Mephisto smiled and kept spinning her around and around. They didn't see but Beatrice sat back against one of the pillars and smiled wistfully at them. She had come to conclusion that Talia was quite the match for the boy she loved so much... He needed someone strong but graceful to guide him. Sure, she was a bit of a stick in the mud, but Mephisto needed someone to keep him grounded.

She had already known this after her first encounter with the princess... but it wasn't until now that Beatrice realized something else... that Mephisto may be a good match for Talia, as well.

The sweet music continued to play as Talia and Mephisto were somewhat lost in their own world. Mephisto told his jokes, Talia responded with her wit. Perhaps they danced so well together, because they had been locked in a mental dance for some time, each taking turns doing the leading, but always coming back to finish the steps.

"I have to spin you now, ok?" Mephisto informed her.

"Spin me?"

"Yeah, it's like a spin but then you come back in and its a dip- uh.. here, just..." The hand that he had laid against the small of Talia's back glowed, performing a quick crystal levatus spell so Talia hovered an inch off the ground. She let out a startled yelp at the feeling of floating. Her toes not touching the floor allowed him to move her as gracefully as a doll, just to show her the motions so not to injure her feet again. In a beautiful and fluid motion, she was spun delicately around, under Mephisto's arm and pulled back into him, only much closer than before and was leaned backwards into the dip with his body guiding hers.

Her eyes found his and both felt a... spark, of some sort. Were his eyes always _so_ green? I mean, they of course had always been green, but Talia was certain that she hadn't noticed what a perfect shade of emerald they were... Come to think of it, she was certain no one on the planet had such a beautiful color.

Meanwhile, Mephisto was having a hard time keeping his heart from pounding through his ribcage. A strange desire filled his soul and he simply could not shake it. It was an impulse that felt very familiar and yet, he could not place it for the life of him. It was something he felt like he was being compelled to do... something he needed or he would lose his mind... but what could it have been? Madness. Mephisto was not one to deny his impulses... so not being able to place it was borderline torture for the poor boy.

He found himself noticing small details about her, he honestly never had before. To be fair, Mephisto was never one to notice the small things... but here he was, spotting the slight hints of bronze in those golden eyes of hers, and the perfect way her plump lips puckered when she gasped. Her nose was an absolutely flawless button. But it wasn't just her face. Her fingers flexed slightly in the grip of his hand, and he felt a shiver roll down her spine in his other.

Now, he didn't need a reminder that Talia was a looker. Heck, all the princesses, somehow, were... but... how did he not see how absolutely stunning she was?

Mephisto shook away that thought. That bad, stupid thought. He gulped as he pulled her back up, setting her feet back down. Their eyes never once breaking their contact, and somehow, the only awkward thing about it was how perfectly natural to him... having Talia gazing at him, as if trying to figure out a complex riddle. He was watching that brilliant mind of hers at work, and he realized that she was most beautiful when she was thinking...

"That was SO SWEET!" A shrill voice from the door exclaimed. Talia, Beatrice and Mephisto sharply turned to see three new figures standing in the door. Talia gasped, clearly taken aback.

"A-Auriana, Iris!?" She gasped, "What are you doing here!?"

It's true. Standing, there in the glow of the hall's light were Talia's 2 best friends and Iris's loyal body guard, Ellira. Mephisto paled, removing his arms from around his bride as Auriana sprinted across the room. She collided with Talia, wrapping her arms around her in a big hug.

"You mean _other_ than seeing your husband sweep you off your feet? LITERALLY!" Auriana cooed, her arms squeezing the much taller girl around her neck. Talia was hunched over, trying desperately, but with no avail, to be released.

"Yes. OTHER than that!" She said, grabbing Auriana's arms and flinging them off of her.

Iris and Ellira were walking over, Iris giggling to herself.

"Auriana and I were missing you, so we decided to take a little trip. We informed Lord Gramorr, didn't he tell you?"

"My uncle isn't a sharer," Mephisto excused.

Iris shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, "Hello Lord Mephisto. I trust you're taking care of my friend?" all the familiarity in her cadence was gone. She spoke directly and dutifully.

"Uh... Of course, your highness," Mephisto bowed to her, honestly taken a back by her coldness, and a little hurt. Iris turned her nose towards Talia, opting to ignore the lord for now.

"Will you two be staying until the wedding?" Talia asked, her eyes full of hope. Iris and Auriana exchanged disappointed looks.

"We're sorry Talia, but we can only stay the night," Iris told her, her voice full of sincere regret.

"Yeah, tomorrow night is Iris's weekly bedtime reading to the kids at the ephedian orphanage, and I have a hair appointment," Auriana explained, "But we really wanted to see how you were doing,"

"And make sure you were being taken care of," Iris said with an accusatory tone, glancing at Mephisto again, who jolted.

"Well, I'm glad you're both here, now, anyway," Talia shrugged, "Lets get you settled in,"

Beatrice, who had remained silent during the entire exchange, bowed her head, "Shall I have the maids prepare two rooms for you guests, Princess Talia?"

"Oh, no need," Talia told her, "They can just stay with me. But I'm sure Lady Ellira would love her own bed,"

"While the thought is appreciated, it is also not necessary, Princess," Ellira gratefully spoke, "I will remain at Princess Iris's side,"

"Ellira, I'm with Auriana and Talia. I'm perfectly safe," Iris smiled at the woman she adored, "Besides, I doubt the three of us will get much sleep tonight... and you need to be alert for the journey home,"

Ellira sighed. She remembered the _last_ slumber party the three princesses had... it lasted nearly all night, with the giggling and shouting and random crystal attacks. Not to mention once they got bored with each other, they turned on her, using magical spells to do all kinds of crazy things to her hair that took weeks to get back to normal. She needed her sleep, but she also didn't want to deprive them of what very well could be their last time to be kids before their best friend was married off to some tyrant...

"I can always summon you if there's trouble," Iris coaxed in that buttermilk voice of hers that could convince anyone.

"Very well, your majesty," Ellira agreed, "I will take the room closest to Princess Talia's,"

The girls cheered and Beatrice lead Lady Ellira to the room she had requested. Mephisto smiled at the group as he went back to picking up his and Talia's small mess of notebooks and quills. Talia didn't even notice him leave the room before she eagerly told her best friends to come with her. Not that he minded, much. Sure, he wished he and Iris could be friends, again, but...

For some, super weird reason... he was just happy Talia was happy...

He wondered where that thought came from.

...

"Wow... it's like we're back in Xeris," Auriana said, walking into Talia's room, "Its so different from the rest of the castle,"

"Yeah, well, I don't know how long I'll get to keep it like this," Talia admitted, sitting down the bed, "Lord Gramorr wants me to be a model Zanavian citizen in time for the wedding,"

"Is that why you were learning the Zanavian waltz?" Iris asked, sitting beside Talia on the bed. Auriana, who was spinning in circles, stopped suddenly and turned a shocked face to her friends.

"That was a lesson?" Auriana gasped, clearly disapointed, "I thought you two were locked in a lovers embrace,"

"No, it was definitely just a lesson," Talia cackled, "The past two days, I've been learning about Zanavian etiquette and culture. Mephisto's been teaching me a lot,"

"Ohhh? He has, has he?" Auriana asked, a coy smirk playing on her lips. She slid along the bed to rub elbows with Talia, "And are you... 'hot for teacher,' Talia?"

"Please," Talia laughed.

"Well I think its absolutely horrible you have to marry him," Iris jumped to her feet. She paced around the room a bit, "I mean, how can they expect you to marry someone against your will? It's so unfair!"

"Iris!" Auriana playfully scolded, "Arranged marriages happen all the time. Or... atleast they used to. My grandparents had an arranged marriage and they're really, Really happy!"

"Your grandparents weren't two-faced snakes," Iris pouted. She turned to look at them both and smiled, "Besides, it doesn't matter. Izira told us her plan, Talia,"

"She did?" Talia gasped, ushering her voice down to a whisper.

"She did," Iris confirmed, "This trip is a dual purpose one. She sent Auriana and I to check on you and get as much intel from you as possible without anyone suspecting. We're with you, 100%! Right, Auriana?"

Auriana jumped, "Uh... of course,"

"Thats great guys," Talia breathed a heavy sigh of relief, "But I'm afraid I don't know much that I haven't already reported back to Izira herself,"

"Thats ok," Auriana shrugged, "We still really wanted to see you,"

"They haven't hurt you, have they?"

"No, not at all," Talia told her, blushing a little, "If anything, I was the one who did the damage when I first got here... but Mephisto has been, strangely, welcoming. I think he hates the idea of getting married just as much we I do,"

"So there's no work to do?" Auriana giggled, "That means we can just hang out and have fun tonight?"

"Well... there was _one_ thing I didn't get a chance to tell Izira yet," Talia confessed, hesitant as she spoke, "But I'm not really sure if it means anything..."

"Well, what is it?"

"The other day, I saw Praxina summoning a dark crystal monster,"

"WHAT!?" Both princesses exclaimed.

"How's that even possible!?" Iris asked.

"No one even knows how to use dark crystal magic, anymore!" Auriana exclaimed, "It's been forbidden since ancient times,"

"I know..." Talia sighed, "But I know what I saw. Also, she's been acting strangely. Mephisto hasn't said anything but I can tell he's worried about her. I asked him about it, and he basically told me I imagined it. I don't know if he's in on it or is in denial... I wanted to contact Izira about it but..."

"No, you were right to hold off. Auriana and I will take the long way and go through Xeris to meet with her in person on our way back home," Iris decided, "It's too dangerous to send a message with information like that,"

"If Praxina is using dark crystal magic you should stay as far away from her as possible, Talia," Auriana said gravely, "That stuff can hurt you just being around it,"

"Thanks you guys," Talia smiled, "I'll be careful,"

In truth, just knowing that they were helping Izira eased a lot of Talia's anxiety and made her feel safer. She knew if anyone could help her it was them.

"Now that thats over, lets PARTY!" Auriana decided, throwing her arms in the air, sending sparkling orange crystal crescents all over the room. Both Iris and Talia laughed.

"I'm so happy you guys are here, but, there isn't much to do... The water isn't very good for swimming, and the parlor has a few games but they're all weird Zanavian ones," Talia shrugged, "Actually, the only fun I've had since I've been here was when Mephisto and I snuck out to Calix,"

"Talia!" Auriana gasped, a giant smile on her face, "YOU snuck out!? But thats so... _irresponsible_!"

"I know, I know," Talia's eyes rolled, "but believe you me, It was necessary,"

"Well, I'm sure we can make our own fun," Iris said, walking over to Talia's chest of drawers. She opened it up, "We could put on each others clothes and-"

"Play dress up, really, Iris?" Auriana's eyes rolled.

"Well what's your idea?"

"Well, our bestie is getting married in 5 days and this is probably our last night together to do this... so..." A grin played on Auriana's lips as she looked at her friends, "What if we snuck out, too?"

"What? We can't do that," Talia said, "I don't even know how,"

"You said you did it before,"

" _With_ Mephisto's help. He knows a very good teleportation spell,"

"Why don't we ask him for his help, then?" Auriana asked, "Do you think he would?"

Talia started to laugh. Would Mephisto help? He would leap at the chance to corrupt all 3 princesses and take them to his seedy hide away. Nothing would give him greater pleasure than the opportunity to make up for his blunder back at Auriana's Shanila. Heck, he would probably thank them.

...

Mephisto awoke with a start by a soft hand covering his face mouth. Eyes popped open to reveal the dark silhouette of 3 looming figures over his bed. Panic filled his form as he blinked rapidly to try and make out who the intruders were. One of them 'shhhed' him and in a voice that he had become very familiar... his eyes finally adjusted to the bare moonlight, he realized it was none other than the princesses...

"Wuh... what are you three doing in my room?" Sitting up, he stared at them blankly for a moment, an amazed and enchanted smile spread across his lips, "I mean, I won't lie, I've thought about it but-"

"Get over yourself," Iris ordered, completely disgusted.

"I'm taking the girls out for an adventure," Talia told him, giving him that playful smile of hers, "Some place less miserable,"

"Seriously? You're following in my footsteps?" Mephisto smiled. He wiped away a pretend tear, "You know, they always said teaching was rewarding... but I didn't really believe it until now...,"

"Does that mean you're in?" Auriana asked him.

"What kind of a lord would I be if I didn't see that my guests had a nice time?" Mephisto asked with a laugh. He rose to his feet, completely unashamed to be standing in his dark room with in just his sleeping robe tied loosely to his waist. Auriana giggled, grabbing Talia by the arm at the sight of so much of his exposed chest and legs. In a flash Mephisto had on his traveing clothes again and looked at the princesses closely, Iris in particular, "is your body guard gonna cause trouble,"

"Don't worry about Ellira," Iris said, "We left projections of us playing and laughing so It'll be on all night. If she wakes up, she'll hear us and go back to bed,"

"How did you make something like that so quickly?"

"Oh, we recorded it a year ago!" Auriana explained, "Spent an entire afternoon! We pretended we were a rock band and wrote songs and made dances and wore cute little-"

Both Talia and Iris clamped their hands over Auriana's mouth to keep her from further

Mephisto was snickering through clenched teeth, "That. Is. Adorable. Seriously. I have to see this,"

"Just help us with our outfits so we can get going," Talia grumbled at him, fighting back the blush that formed over her face.

"Outfits? Whats wrong with what we have on?" Iris asked.

"Mephisto prefers to... be a little bit inconspicuous on these little field trips,"

"No one is willing to punch you in the face if they think you're royal," He said.

"Wait, what?"

...

"MEPHISTO! TALIA!" The shouts from the Tavern were deafening. Iris clamped her hands over her ears as Auriana laughed.

Mephisto made his rounds like before, saying hello to the various Calixians he knew. Carissa made a beeline for him, already a few drinks in and feeling a bit fiesty.

"Mephisto! What's all this?" She asked, gesturing at the three beautiful women with him, "Do you get multiple wives? Is that something Zanavians do?"

"Carissa, Talia's friends are here to celebrate her last moments of freedom before having to throw her life away to some Zanavian dolt," Mephisto exclaimed.

"Uh... isn't that you?" Carissa asked him, her eyes squinting.

"Nope. Tonight, I'm just one of the girls," Mephisto defended.

"In that case... DRINKS ARE ON THE HOUSE, LADIES!"

Iris, and Auriana looked around in amazement. Auriana definitely felt more comfortable than her friend, Volta being a more casual kingdom than Ephedia. Stepping lightly behind Talia, the group made their way to an empty space in one of the corners. There was nothig there but a single large man standing, picking his teeth with a fish bone.

Carissa shouted something at him Calixian and the man bellowed something back. Loudly, Carissa screamed another slew at him, waving her arms and pointing her fingers. Then, the man stood up straight, only to lean in her face and scream "AHHHHHHHHH!" to which she reared back and screamed back at him, "AHHHHHHHH!"

The man straighted, tossed his fish bone aside and lumbered away. Mephisto sighed, nudging his old friend, Iris in the shoulder, "Such a beautiful culture, no?"

Iris didn't say anything, just looked around... THIS was something Talia thought was fun? It was so loud and aggressive... there were no ornaments or comfy seats... just wood and stone and purple crystal banners.

Just then, the man Carissa had been screaming at walked back over, carrying a table and a few chairs, all in just his arms. He tossed them in the empty corner and arranged them about quite nicely. He even placed a small wreath and candle set in the center of the table for show.

Carissa thanked him in Calixian and he waved her off as he left the area.

Turning to her guests she boasted, "Have a seat, ladies,"

Auriana shoved Iris and Talia, eager to get them all seated together. She had out her orange crystal for picture taking and took about a hundred selfies in just a few seconds of the three of them together.

"Thanks, Carissa," Mephisto said before he took his seat, but his friend grabbed his arm.

"You have _got_ to stop bringing princesses here, Man," She whispered, "Talia is fine, they teach their princesses to fight in Xeris... but you know this place can get rough some times. I don't need a war started just cos some frilly dame gets a nail chipped here,"

"You're overreacting," Mephisto assured her, "Iris and Auriana are cool, trust me,"

Carissa gave him a frown just as Auriana squealed a horrified scream. Nearly everyone in the bar turned their attention to her in a panic.

"Oh, I thought I was missing my ring," Auriana giggled, "False alarm,"

Carissa gave Mephisto a stern look and he simply chuckled before taking his seat beside Talia. He pretended to ignore Iris's snide glance at him as he made himself comfortable by putting his arm on the back of Talia's seat.

"This is so awesome," Auriana laughed, "Sneaking out, going to Calix to a BAR," She snickered mischievously, "I feel like an outlaw,"

"Oh yeah, you're one seedy customer, alright," Came a cool voice. Lev smiled down at the group, carrying a large wooden tray of Calixian beers. He set it down and passed one to each member of the table.

"L-Lev?" Iris breathed, shocked to see him. Lev did a double take. With that cloak covering her beautiful pink hair, he hadn't recognized her at first. In fact, he had been so surprised, he almost spilled a mug of beer on himself.

"Iris! What are you doing here?" He asked, dumbfounded, "Oh no, don't tell me you're engaged to that bozo, too,"

"Hey!" Mephisto exclaimed, taking a break from his drink.

"No," Iris giggled sweetly, "We're just visiting Talia. What are you doing here?"

"I uh... work here," Lev shrugged, feeling a little embarrassed, "So uh..."

"OI! LEV! Another ROUND!" A Calixian shouted from across the bar. Lev nodded over to her and looked back at Iris with a sincere grin.

"Uh... Duty calls," He chuckled nervously then headed over to attend to the customer. Iris waved at him, sighing wistfully as he walked away, not noticing the stares from the rest of her crew until it was too late. She flinched when she felt their eyes.

"What? What is it?"

"Iris... how do you know that ruggishly handsome bartender?" Auriana asked her playfully, walking her fingers across the table over to tap her friend on the hand.

"Lev was a garden boy like Mephisto," Iris explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear bashfully, "We were... friends,"

"Way I remember it you were more than friends," Mephisto grinned. Iris rolled her eyes.

"What happened?" Talia asked her.

"I don't know," Iris shrugged, "One day I went to go see him in the garden and he was gone... I never knew what happened to him,"

"Why don't you ask him?" Auriana suggested.

Iris watched the young man with whom she had feelings for as a girl walk about the bar, tending to the loud and rowdy patrons with an air of serene coolness that was hard not to admire. Lev was about as smooth as butter and had a way of making you feel like the most interesting person alive. In fact, she was having a hard time remembering if he ever lost his cool around her...

"I couldn't..." Iris blushed, "If Lev wanted to tell me, he would have. I mean... we couldn't have been _that_ close if he could just leave without saying goodbye, right?"

"Maybe he had a good reason," Auriana encouraged, "C'mon! You never know unless you go for it! What are the chances we'd come all this way on a whim and your first love was right here! It's fate!"

"Lev is pretty easy to talk to," Talia agreed, "Maybe you wont have to ask him if you just start a conversation,"

Iris exhaled deeply, "No. I'm here for you, Talia. If Lev wants to talk to me, he can talk to me. Now. What is this in front of me?"

"It's a pint of Calix's finest ale!" Carissa boasted, "Why, sailors come for miles around for it. We brew it here at the taven, in the cellar,"

"The first one can be pretty hard to swallow," Talia warned, "But go slow... you know you need to take it easy when it starts to taste good,"

By the time Talia was finished explaining Auriana had already finished her entire pint. She hiccuped a bit and giggled, "Tastes just like Voltan Viquer,"

After picking his jaw up, Mephisto took it as a challenge and threw back the rest of his drink as well. Carissa laughed and finished hers in suit. Talia smiled over at Iris and took a modest sip from her drink. Iris gave it a good swig, only to spit it right back into her mug.

"It's horrible..." she exclaimed, earning laughter from her friends.

"How's everything over here, guys?" Lev asked, walking back over. Iris, in a panic threw back her drink and gulped down as much as she could without spitting it back out. She slammed down the mug, doing her best to hold back her revile and smiled up at Lev.

"We're just great, Lev!"

"Woah, easy there, Princess. That's no smoothie," Lev chuckled, taking the empty mugs from the table, before walking away again, "I'll bring some fresh ones back for ya,"

"Smooth," Carissa snorted.

"Ugh..." Iris groaned, "Why am I acting like this? This is so embarrassing..."

"You know what might help you relax?" Mephisto smirked at her, gesturing to her drink. Iris, staring at him, eyed her drink nervously.

Talia gave her fiance a gentle shove, "Iris, don't listen to Mephisto. You don't have to drink it if you don't-"

Again, before Talia could finish what she was saying, her friend finished her drink.

...

As the night progressed, everyone became a lot more relaxed in general. Mephisto, unlike last time, let himself indulge a bit. Not enough so he couldn't get everyone home safely, but just so he could enjoy himself a bit more. Talia, on the other hand, took it slow, deciding she didn't mind drinking, but wanted to test her own limitations with alcohol. Iris was completely trashed after downing that first mug of Calixian beer...

but it was Auriana who was the real mystery...

She just drank and drank and drank and no one could really tell if she was actually drunk or not.

Iris and Lev were finally talking, though. And it seemed to be going pretty well. Especially when the band changed tunes to something a bit more relaxing, but still with a fun pace to it, and the very intoxicated princess jumped up, "I feel like dancing! Lev! Can we dance?"

"I'd be honored, Princess," Lev stood slowly, offering his hand to Iris in a way that would have been quite charming, had she not grabbed him and run off to the dance floor at full force.

The rest of the table laughed at poor Lev nearly stumbling as he tried to keep up with her, but settled once the two began the dance. Auriana sighed as she watched them, happy to see her friend enjoying herself in a romantic way. She glanced over at her other friend who was laughing at some joke her fiance made and an idea came to the Voltan.

"Talia, will you dance with me?"

"I don't know, Auriana..." Talia shrugged.

"C'mon! Please, please, please!" Auriana begged, twinkling her eyes in that sweet way she knew her friend couldn't resist, "It'd mean the absolute world to me,"

"I guess so..." Talia relented. Auriana cheered in delight as together they got up and started to walk to the dance floor, "I don't know the steps though,"

"Really!? That won't do," Auriana pretended to be shocked. She looked over at Mephisto, who was pretty loopy, "Mephisto, do you know the steps to this dance,"

"Of course I do,"

"Perfect!" Auriana exclaimed, pulling him out of his seat and pushing him into Talia, "Talia, you can dance with Mephisto since he knows how,"

"What? I thought _You_ wanted to dance!"

"Me? Talia, I don't even know the steps!" Auriana snorted, waving them off. She watched her handy work with pride as she flipped her gorgeous glimmering orange hair to slide back into her seat.

"That was pretty slick, Voltan," Carissa was sitting there in her seat, waiting with her mug tilted upwards.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Auriana may have said, but she clanked her own mug against Carissas and the two shared a drink.

When Iris saw Mephito leading Talia to the dance floor she soured, looking at the ground. Lev noticed the change in her demeanor and immediately asked what the look was for.

"Let me guess, you don't approve of Mephisto marrying Princess Talia?"

"How could I?" Iris asked, "I know he's your friend, but even _you_ have to admit he's not good enough for her..."

Lev was taken back by her words. He had never known Iris to speak so cruelly of someone. Maybe it was the booze talking. She did have an even pinker hue to her face than usual... It was pretty cute.

"Why? Because he's lowborn?"

"What? No, of course not. You remember. I was friends with both of you when we were all kids. I don't care about that... it's just..." Iris hesitated, trying to find the words in her inebriated state, "When he worked in the garden he was goofy, but sweet. Ever since getting adopted by Gramorr he's become so arrogant and and..." Iris dropped her voice to a whisper, " _promiscuous_ ,"

This caused Lev to laugh out loud.

"I'm serious. He hit on Auriana _infront_ of Talia!"

"The Shanila thing?" Lev asked.

"Y-Yeah... how do you know?"

"Listen up, Princess, there's some things about Mephisto I think you should know..."

Meanwhile, Talia was finding herself having a lot more fun doing the Calixian jouste than the Zanavian waltz. It was a strange way of dancing, focusing on stomping and twilring more than anything, and Mephisto, despite being so drunk, was actually pretty good at it... or atleast, she assumed he was, since she had never really paid attention to anyone actually do the Calixian Jouste before... but he looked about as good as everyone else around them...

"I think you're a better dancer in Calix and you are Zanavia," Talia pointed out, making Mephisto laugh, "Maybe you were switched at birth or something,"

"Tell me about it, if it wasn't for the food I woulda moved in with Carissa a long time ago," Mephisto twirled her expertly, "Did you know they eat hurley beast stomach here? No thank you,"

"Well you better do something, because your waltz is pretty terrible,"

"Hey now," Mephisto feigned being wounded by her words, "Maybe the solution is we'll just do the Calixian jouste at the wedding, really throw the whole party off,"

All the laughter from the moment completely got sucked out of Talia as his words left a sudden pang of guilt that she wasn't quite sure of... It's not that she WANTED to marry him... She knew he wasn't exactly looking forward to the ceremony either. He just liked to make the best out of situations, which was admirable but... she wondered if planning this escape was fair to him. Would he be happy about it? Would it hurt his feelings? She mused that, maybe, if she told him, he would be more than happy to help get them both out of it... but she was scared. Scared everything he was telling her was an act... just like everything she was telling him was an act, as well...

Regardless, he certainly wasn't someone who deserved to be hurt. She really, truly, hoped he was as against this as she was, and was as sincere in his words as he seemed.

And yet...

"I was just kidding," Mephisto blurted out.

"What?" Talia asked him, forgetting what they had been talking about earlier. Maybe she _had_ drank more than she thought...

"About the dance... you seemed to get kinda upset so-"

"No, no, I was just... thinking about something," Talia excused herself, noting that the more they danced the more drunk they both seemed to get. Mephisto threw his head back in a vogue-style pose and gave her a coy smirk.

"Was it about how _dashing_ I look on this dance floor,"

"You got me," she rolled her eyes.

Flicking his bangs with his hand, Mephisto slurred, "Ha ha, I knew it,"

After Talia was done being over her fiance's ridiculousness, she looked back at him... who in that time took a moment to stare at Talia very closely, in a way that made Talia quite self conscious.

"Huh," He said, as if coming to some sort of big conclusion.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"It's just... earlier, when we were waltzing... I couldn't figure something out. It was really bothering me," He explained simply, as he twirled her about again, "But I think I just realized it,"

"And what might that be?"

"I think... I might wanna kiss you, Talia..." He mused.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah..." He nodded, "But I'm not gonna,"

"Ok,"

...

With dawn merely an hour away, the group made their leave of the bar, bidding their friends farewell. Iris and Lev promised to stay in better touch, and Auriana had promised Carissa to introduce her to Princess Lyna (Though warned the purple princess that the latter was a touch boy crazy).

Mephisto could barely stand as he hobbled over to everyone.

"Ok, I'mma need everyone to just grab onta me and stay super duper still, ok?" He slurred, taking one last sip of his ale before holding out his arm.

The girls did as they were told in a flash of green and white they were gone from Calix...

And reappeared several inches above the floor of Talia's bed room, causing them all to clamber and fall the ground quite harshly. Auriana wined, Talia heaved, feeling like she may puke and Mephisto's drunken laughter bellowed throughout the bedroom. It was Iris who stood quickly and began shhh'ing her friends.

"Quiet down everyone, or you'll wake-"

"Don't worry, Princess," The lights of the room came on, revealing Lady Ellira sitting in the far corner in the little crystal chair, "I'm already up,"

...

Lady Ellira had been... Quite upset, to say the least. But, the girls convinced her that it was their idea and they dragged Mephisto into it, considering the seriousness had the alternative been true. And while the wicked thought to claim that Mephisto DID take them outside the palace wall WOULD solve the whole 'marriage issue,' did cross all 3 of their minds separately, they would never do such a thing to the boy. Especially considering the penalty for kidnapping a princess was death.

"We wanted to do something special with Talia before the wedding. It was our idea, the whole time," Iris explained to her body guard, "Honest! Mephisto was asleep when we had the idea!"

"That's right," Talia corroborated, "We snuck into his room and woke him up and begged him to take us,"

"Its true!" Auriana chimed in, stifling back giggles, "He wasn't even dressed yet! We practically saw everythin-"

"Auriana!" Came the chorus of both Talia and Iris.

Ellira heaved a sigh, looking over at the young lord who was splayed on the gold and blue lounge at the end of Talia's bed. Ellira didn't hate the young lord, despite popular opinion. In fact, she had quite the soft spot for him. But her job was to protect Princess Iris at all costs, and that boy had a way of putting Iris in unnecessary peril.

"You girls need to realize how dangerous what happened was. You could have been hurt, or who knows what else! Also, no one knew where you were, so if something happened to you, I maybe wouldn't be able to find you in time,"

Iris snorted, "Ellira, don't be so dramatic. You're always on time,"

"If you promise to never do a stupid thing like this again, I will not alert your parents," Ellira decided.

The girls all breathed sighs of relief, and gave her their word, but they all knew it wasn't entire true. Ellira then watched Talia, Auriana and Iris all walk over to Mephisto and helped get him up to put him back bed.

Ellira's already knew her decision before she got the story from the princesses, and not just because the girls were safe and sound, and it was clearly Mephisto who was drug into this... after all, he was the most inebriated... But starting a war over something so... juvenile seemed incredibly stupid. Especially with the tumultuous political climate that had been circulating the past decade. Looking at the young royals before her, however goofy and ridiculous they all seemed, Ellira couldn't help but hope they would bring about peace through all of Ephedia through their strong friendships... Though her heart hurt deep down, knowing that nothing ruined such closeness as the desire to do whats best for your own people...

By the time Mephisto was getting settled into bed, the sun had started to rise. Talia laughed as he mused about how getting tucked in by 3 beautiful princesses made him the luckiest little orphan ever.

Iris smiled, ruffling his hair and telling him, quite sweetly, "Good night Mephisto... Thanks for tonight," before placing a small kiss on his forehead.

"Yeah! I don't think I've ever had so much fun!" Auriana giggled and followed suit, kissing him on his cheek.

With a big goofy grin Mephisto slapped his cheek with his open palm. He rocked his head from side to side on his pillow, playing up a bashful act at the affection he was shown.

"The honor *yawn* was all mine, your majesties," He then cracked an eye open to look at his fiance and cleared his throat, "Although I do believe I'm short a kiss,"

Talia smirked, her hands on her hips and her expression relaxed. She placed a delicate kiss on the tips of her index and middle finger, only to place it gently against his own lips that he puckered to, quite dramatically, making a smacking sound.

When she moved her fingers away, he slapped his chest where his heart was as if having a heart attack, though his face was complete bliss, "Tell Lady Ellira I will await my execution dignity... for I now have no regrets,"

"Good night, Dorpsblah," Shaking her had, Talia walked over to her friends who were waiting at the door and lead them back to her bedroom once again.

She didn't see the curious faces they exchanged or hear Auriana whisper to Iris, "Do you think maybe we should hold off on the plan? They look like they might be kinda perfect for each other,"

"Even if they are," Iris whispered back, not denying Auriana's observation, "They both deserve to choose who they want to be with,"

Auriana nodded at her friend, knowing that Iris was probably right and followed behind her.

...

As hugs and kisses were being exchanged, and then more hugs, from Auriana, Iris promised that they'd be back before the wedding to... 'help' with any arrangements. She then turned her attention to Mephisto, who was getting a third big hug from Auriana, and another kiss on the cheek as she told him, again, how much fun she had had. Mephisto laughed when the young voltan finally let him go. It was obvious to Iris that Mephisto had long gotten over his little crush on Auriana... and from what she could see, he was taking his engagement to Talia rather seriously... or so it seemed, atleast.

Guilt struck Iris's heart at the thought of how absolutely nasty she had been to him over the last few years... and she knew she needed to make it right.

She walked over to him and gave him a much gentler hug than one of Auriana's. He was obviously thrown off by it, considering it was the first hug he had gotten from her since they were kids. She saw the confusion on his face when she pulled back, so she let him in on it.

"Lev told me about Auriana's shanila..."

"Oh... uh... don't worry about it,"

"No, I've been really unfair to you," Iris was clearly quite remorseful, "I'm so sorry, Mephisto,"

"You were just looking out for your friend, I get it,"

"Well... I should have remembered that we are friends too," She admitted, shrugging a little, "I should have just talked to you,"

Mephisto didn't say anything, but smiled quite warmly at her. He would never say it, but Iris had been his first real friend... and did everything she could to make his stay at the Ephedian Palace as happy as possible. She made him feel normal, and helped him forget his sadness... not just him, but Praxina, too... what Iris did for his sister was something he would never forget, and he would always be grateful for. So he was so very happy that they could be friends again.

"Oh, I just realized," Iris exclaimed, "I didn't see Praxina once while we were here! I've really missed her,"

"Well, then, I supposed you'll have to come back again, soon," Came a serpentine voice from the shadows of the castle. Lord Gramorr came walking from the front gate, wrapped in an ebony cape and hanging from his shoulders, "Lady Praxina sends her regrets, but she's been working quite hard to master a few new tricky spells. I'll be sure to send her your sentiment, Princess,"

Talia's eye twitched at the wording Gramorr chose, furthering her suspicion that he was somehow in on Praxina's dark crystal magic use...

Iris, who's mind was on the same thing, forced an expert smiled at her host.

"That would be most thoughtful, my lord, thank you. And Thank you for letting us stay in your exquisite home for the night. We really enjoyed our stay,"

"My door is always open to you both, and your families," He promised, but still... the way he spoke had a way of making everyone so... nerved...

"You princesses do be careful on your journey," Gramorr advised, "The way out of Zanavia can be quite treacherous, I can have some of my royal guards escort you back your kingdoms,"

"Thats most appreciated, Lord Gramorr," Iris respectfully bowed, "But Lady Ellira is more than enough protection from any bandit or mercenary,"

"Oh, but I must insist. I simply couldn't sleep at night if I let you wonder off alone with only a woman to protect you,"

The air became thicker, as Talia, Iris and Auriana's thoughts all wondered the same thing- could Gramorr be on to them? Was he trying to keep tabs on their movements so they couldn't alert Izira?

"With all due respect, Lord Gramorr, But Lady Ellira is not only a woman. She served as captain of my fathers royal guard for years and only renounced that title when I was born. By her hand alone she has stopped dozens of assassins and would-be kidnappers from laying a hand on me," Iris was firm, but still very politely, clearly the mark of a great queen, "While I appreciate your concern, I can assure you, we will be perfectly safe and in no need of your men,"

Talia could not have been prouder of her friend as Gramorr bowed back at her, "Very well, your majesty, I meant no offense,"

"Consider it dismissed," Iris smiled. She looked over at Talia and Mephisto, then back at Auriana with a smile. Without having to say a word, Auriana's face lit up, reading exactly what Iris had in mind and in a flash the two princesses had thrown their arms around Talia for one last, intense goodbye hug.

The girls all laughed and Mephisto smiled at the display. Gramorr, clearly allergic to such expressive displays of affection, saw himself back into the castle.

Before long, the princesses were loaded up in their flying carriage and waving out the window to their friends. Talia waved back as long as she could, until they were too far away to see... She sighed wistfully, missing them already...

Mephisto was soon at her side, giving her a little nudge. She looked over at him and he very sternly said, "Ok, princess, fun time is over. It is time to get to work, and I don't wanna hear any complaining, got it?" but he cracked a quick smile when he was finished to let her know he was joking.

Smiling, the two went back inside the castle.

Their dance wasn't quite over yet.


	7. Chapter 7

Ok. This is another dark chapter,

so much so im thinking about changing this to a drama,

rather than a comedy. So fair warning: This chapter contains some really

dark themes, touching on death and genocide and

basically, human euthinasia.

So... have fun with that.

...

Over the course of the next few days, Mephisto had kept his word to Talia. He showed her the proper way to sit at the floor pillows and how to light the sacred lanterns at the altars. He taught her the Zanavian national anthem... and had her sing it for him about 5 times... just to be SURE she got it perfect (also because she had the most soothing, voice that sounded like the audio version of vanilla and honey and Mephisto had just been happy that he was totally right about his Talia being a good singer theory). He introduced her to Zanavians most famous authors and their books (that was her favorite lesson!). He even got Praxina to help model for her the proper way a Zanavian lady carried herself in those loose, flowing dresses without tripping on the excessive fabric.

But... the absolute BEST moment was when he took her to the Castle library. Though it was absolutely massive, it didn't hold a candle to the amount of books in the Xerin library, however, every single book inside was one she had never seen before. She had never seen so many books she didn't recognize! Why she hadn't just moved her bed in here the first night she would never know!

Mephisto SHOULD have foreseen this reaction, but like usual, he was surprised by her, and couldn't bring himself to tear her away from her hearts desire to attempt to read every book inside. So, he decided to give her the day off and he'd come back to get her for dinner.

When he returned, he was NOT surprised to find Talia sitting atop a small mountain of books. Around her were stacks of other books, each piled higher than the last. She had poured herself into them, as he had firmly expected.

When he asked her how many she had actually read, she informed him 15 start to finish. But she had skimmed almost 30 more and browsed the summary of about 80. She had them categorized in the piles around her by her interest level in them.

"Well, it's time for dinner, so you may wanna say goodbye to your new friends," Mephisto grinned at her. Talia defensively held the book she was currently reading close to her chest.

"C-Can I see them again tomorrow?"

"Sure,"

"And... could I take some with me? To read in bed?"

"You can take one,"

"Just one?"

"I don't need you staying up all night and being crabby for tomorrow's lesson," Mephisto spoke with a lightness in his voice, but Talia could tell he was serious. He certainly had her number and knew her well enough not to trust her with multiple books. He made sure to add for emphasis, "Again,"

Relenting, Talia glanced around frantically until she found the book she wanted to read that night. She took it, and the book she had currently been reading and got up to follow him. He held up his hand to stop her.

"Woah, woah, Princess, I said one,"

"I'm gonna finish this one on our way to dinner," Talia explained, holding up her two books, "and THIS one I'm going to read before bed,"

Mephisto chuckled as he shook his head and held out his hand. Without needing any words, Talia handed him the book she was saving for later for him to carry. He then offered his free arm to her so he could escort her to dinner in the same fashion in which they had done every evening. Because he was carrying her other book, she was able to read the one she had without fumbling or any awkwardness. She flipped her book open to her saved page and scanned her eyes over the words. Mephisto lead her out of the library and down the hall, once again, to the dining hall.

It was odd how second nature it all had become...

Talia hadn't thought twice about giving Mephisto her book, or that he was ok with carrying it as they walked. It was just... how they operated now.

The castle staff had definitely noticed the change in the young lord. He seemed... happier, in a way. He wasn't sleeping in nearly as late, and he wasn't asking for nearly as much to drink throughout the day. He also improved his grooming habits slightly. Not that he was necessarily ungroomed to begin with, the boy always took pride in how he looked. But he certainly seemed to smell much nicer, opting to wear cologne more often than usual, rather than saving it for special occasions.

One of the chamber maids said she saw the young lord reading a book! On literary analysis.

"With no pictures!" she swore.

"You musta been seeing things," The gardener had dismissed.

But it was true. Mephisto HAD given reading a second shot... and found... he actually did like it quite a bit. Funny, how he had forgotten how much...

Had anyone in the castle known the Xerin princess as well as the young lord, they would have spotted the changes in her as well. How she laughed so much more lately. And not just slight chuckles or deep exhales out of her nose, but full, heart filling belly laughs that filled the castle with joy. And brought a sense of glowing pride to Mephisto, who simply lived to make her laugh, now if only to hear more of that voice.

She was engaging in conversations with the staff as well, making a point to remember all their names, a habit that Mephisto had instilled in her.

But mostly it was noted just how much time they spent together... even when their lessons were done and had been excused from Gramorr's dinner table. They often took their desert and tea together and would spend their moments, before bed, in each others company. Usually in one of the parlors, teaching each other zanavian and xerin games the other had never tried.

One time, they stayed up _very_ late playing such a rousing game of Bubottun (A/N: think like billiards or something...) that their laughters and banter awoke Lord Gramorr himself two floors up! And he sent a crystal message to tell them to go to bed IMMEDIATELY. They sprinted down the hall, suppressing their feverish giggles like a couple of children. They were in such a sleepy tiz, they both forgot Mephisto could teleport!

The only person who didn't seem pleased by all this was Praxina. She sat at the dinner table watching her brother and his fiance whisper jokes back and forth to each other, suppressing their giggles so not to disturb Lord Gramorr. Twisting her fork in tiny, intense circles through her pasta, over and over until the metal scrapped the china. The abrasive sound got the attention of the whole table, including her uncle. Praxina dropped her fork silently and smiled respectfully at him.

"My apologies, Lord Gramorr,"

Gramorr said nothing, but went back to his meal, indicating she was not in any further trouble. Once his attention was off her, she shot a dirty look at her brother and Talia, who returned her glare with confused stares.

She returned her attention back to her plate, scowling.

Mephisto took a moment and Talia caught that look on his face again... that worried, confused look that he often got when thinking of Praxina. After a brief moment an idea came to him and he lit up in that big smile of his. He leaned over to try and get his sisters attention, subtlety.

"Pssst... hey, Prax," Mephisto whispered. Praxina looked up at him.

"Talia and me are gonna see the seamstress after dinner... Wanna come along?"

"Why would I want do that?" Praxina frowned.

"Talia doesn't know anything about Zanavian fashion and I don't wear dresses," Mephisto explained sincerely, "You'd really be doing us a big favor,"

Talia's head snapped to look at him. What was he talking about? Mephisto was very fashionable! The dresses he picked out for her were always on point. Not to mention the fashion books she had been looking at gave her ample knowledge of what was current in the stylish zanavian wardrobe. He had even told her that they were more than qualified to meet with the seamstress alone.

Mephisto felt her confusion and shot her a look. that unmistakably said 'go along with it,'

"Right Talia?"

"Oh... Right..." Talia smiled. She looked for at Praxina and folded her fingers in a begging motion, "Please, Lady Praxina? It'd mean a lot to us,"

"Fine, whatever, I'll go," Praxina gave in, rolling her eyes, "But only if you both stop saying plurals to describe your feelings. Its freaking me out,"

"What is all the whispering about?" An increasingly agitated Gramorr asked. The three teens all sat back up in their upright positions and continued to eat their meal in the silence that was expected of them.

...

With dinner concluded and the seamstress welcomed inside the castle, she needed no escort to the large show room she worked in. She started setting up the various fabrics. Conjuring up clothing, the way Mephisto did it, was great in a pinch, but it could never last for very long and wasn't nearly as beautiful or intricate of the handy work of a professional.

The seamstress was a wirely old woman who had no patience for Mephisto's jokes or Talia's indecisiveness. In fact, the only person she got along with was Praxina. They spoke the same abrupt, direct language.

Things like,

"Her neck is short long for the high collars,"

along with...

"Her corset should be clasped, not buttoned,"

and

"This bussel would only make her hips look even wider,"

All this kept Talia very annoyed. But Mephisto kept the air light by deflecting every time something negative was said about Talia by using self deprecating humor. The only person who appreciated it was Talia, but it was always short lived by the next passive-aggressive comment from the Zanavian born women.

Though her personality was... prickly, the seamstress as amazing to watch. She wove her hands in intricate patterns in the air, her magic circle staying up the entire time as multiple spells were being cast by her hands. Sheers were snipping perfectly measured pieces of fabric while floating threaded needles stitched up the pieces and putting all the dresses together.

By the time Talia had tried on a dress, it was time to take it off and try on the next one that had just been made. And so on and so on.

Soon, Talia had a sizable wardrobe fit for any Zanavia royal. Mephisto insisted on seeing every dress. Opting to step out while she was changing, and coming back in to give his comments.

Though mostly positive, he would voice his opinion of possible improvements every ONCE in awhile... Nothing major, just suggestions on his preferences. Every time he did, however he was aggressively shut down by both his sister and the seamstress. So he was always bullied into submission, and ended up just coming in to say how great each dress was, instead.

"Wow, she really looks the part, huh?" Mephisto had asked his sister, but loud enough for Talia to hear. Praxina stuck her nose in the air as she walked over to a roll of fabric to survey the quality.

"She'll pass," Praxina said, but a sincere smile formed on her features as she said, "You were right to ask my help, you both would have probably dressed her like one of workers at the Zanavian cathouse,"

Mephisto smiled warmly, happy to see his sister enjoying herself. He realized he hadn't been spending much time with her lately, and unlike him, she didn't really have any friends. She could be mean and nasty, but she tended to get quite lonely without him. She knew it. He knew it. And they both knew that the other knew it, but they never spoke of it. It just was.

"I have an idea for the next one," Praxina said suddenly to the seamstress. She looked at her brother and shooed him away. Mephisto jokingly pouted and let himself out the door. Once he was gone, Praxina used a simple dressing spell to make a dress form on Talia for the seamstress to see, "Think you can handle it?"

"That? It's so plain," The seamstress recoiled.

"Are you sure, Praxina?" Talia asked, looking at herself in the mirror, "It's pretty but it seems..."

"Trust me, my brother will love it,"

...

When Mephisto was allowed back inside, Talia was wearing the gown Praxina had designed. The seamstress was already working on the next one, but Mephisto kept his eyes, wide, on Talia. Tears threatened to sting his eyes at the sight of her. He was shocked, staring at the woman who he was going to spend the rest of his life with. His heart skipped a few beats and his jaw completely dropped.

Praxina stood smugly at his side, her arms folded at her chest, looking beyond proud of herself.

"D-Do you like it?" Talia asked, not sure what was going on between the siblings.

Mephisto ignored her completely and turned to his sister, "Praxina, is that..."

"Consider it my wedding gift," Praxina mused, but Mephisto wasn't joking around.

"Praxina, _you_ should wear mom's dress... I... I didn't know you had it,"

Talia gasped, "This was your moms?"

"Ugh, no. I just... made one that looks alot like it," Praxina corrected, annoyed that Talia would give in to the delusion when she SAW the seamstress make it.

"Well yeah, but... if it was her design then maybe... you should have it, Praxina," Talia suggested, "I have so many dresses, now, I really wouldn't mind,"

"Yeah, Prax," Mephisto said, an excited smile growing on his face, "I bet you'd look really great in it!"

"It's not my style, ok?"

"Come on," Mephisto performed the dressing spell to wrap his sister in a copy of the same gown. With a shocked face she caught herself in one of the tall mirrors. Both she and Mephisto gasped, though their reasons were completely different, "Woah..."

"Praxina," Gasped Talia, "You look... _amazing_ ,"

"I agree," The seamstress said, sternly and with not a hint of joy in her voice, "much better on _you_ , Lady Praxina, than this one here,"

It was stunning on her. Solid black, It hugged her thin frame perfectly all the way down to the center of hips where the fabric became looser and longer, splaying out like spilled ink all over the floor. No embellishments, no jutting pieces... but the fabric was adorned with the most subtle of lace all over. Praxina was absolutely stunning.

It was a lovely dress, of course, but it wasn't the dress of a royal. Their mother was a common woman who worked in their village making a modest living selling blossom sprig milk she harvested. But Praxina and Mephisto remembered in the evening, with her hands bandaged from the days work, pouring over her work on a dress. In her youth, she used to love making dresses... but she wasn't good enough to make a career of it... and once the twins father left them, well... she had to be practical.

The dress took years... but only because she worked so diligently to be the best mom she could for them. She would put her project away everytime one of her children needed attention. And even after they had gone to bed she tended to focus that time on making clothes for THEM to wear...

But one day, late in the night, after 3 years of watching her handle stitch by stitch, she woke them both to show them the completed gown. Praxina and Mephisto were absolutely delighted to see her in it. And they of spent the rest of the night in the small shack they shared, playing music and dancing with their mother in their own private gala. It was their happiest memory with her...

"Prax..." Her brother breathed, bringing her back to the present. He ignored a tear coming dangerously close from spilling from his eyes, "You look... _just_ like her..."

Praxina's hand clenched into a tight fist before she wretched herself away the reflection. Summoning her own magic circle she ripped the fabricated dress to shreds, replacing it with the dress she had on before.

"I TOLD YOU, I DIDN'T WANT IT!" Praxina screamed at him, "YOU NEVER LISTEN!"

Mephisto was at a loss for words, watching the remaining pieces of the gown disappear now that they had nothing holding them together. Praxina was gone in a flash of red and black, making Talia gasp at the color. Mephisto called her name and followed, disappearing in green and white.

Talia ran after them, despite not know where they went, and despite the seamstress yelling at her to stay. Talia held the massive amount of frabic in both arms so she could run. She wasn't exactly sure where she would look, but she had to try and find them.

...

Talia wouldn't find them, because Praxina had run off to someplace no one else was familiar with except they two. It was the outskirts of the village they had lived in. A tall tree overlooking the site were it all happened. Where once a small, but beautiful village, lush with life, was now the dark ruins of a gentle people long lost to time...

She wasn't alone with her thoughts for long before her brother was there sitting on the branch a few feet below hers, on the other side of the trunk. She shut her eyes, waiting for him to speak, but no words came. They both just remained silent, looking at their lost home... where they started.

Praxina kept her eyes transfixed on the small shack they once called their home... the roof had caved in directly over the kitchen. The brick was crumbling at the foundation and the north corner was nearly sunk into the mud.

Mephisto looked at the muddy stream on the other end of the village... the overturned cart being buried by vines, the market square that was mostly bricks and split earth now... anything but looking at their house.

"What happened?" He finally asked, breaking the silence. Praxina shut her eyes, already knowing exactly what he was talking about, "The day I caught the Malnura Virus... What happened, really?"

Praxina felt the wind shift around her, a particularly strong gust picking her burgundy tresses up and tousling them about.

"How am I the only survivor? How did we make it out of the quarantine?" He asked, his voice mellow,"You have to tell me, now,"

"I..." The natural authoritative tone in her voice was gone, "I saved you,"

"But how?" Mephisto flew in front of her, blocking her view of the decimated village, he looked like he was getting desperate and maybe even a little scared, "tell me,"

She shivered, a single tear rolling down her cheek, sending a somber dread that racked Mephisto to his core. He became frantic, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking her.

"What did you do!? Melzors, Praxina, what did you do!?"Mephisto started to shout at her. She looked at him with those grey-blue eyes so full of anguish and hurt. It scared him. It scared him down to his bones.

"I can't..." She finally whispered.

"You have to! It's time, sis,"

"Mephisto..."

"Whatever it is, it's ok, Praxina," Mephisto said it, honestly believing it. No matter what she was sister. No matter what they could get through anything. They always had, " _I promise_ ,"

Praxina knew he didn't mean to, but he was lying. She knew once he knew what she did, he would never forgive her... he couldn't. Hell, she could barely forgive herself...

"What did you do?"

"THIS!" Praxina shouted, pushing him off of her. Mephisto floated back, staring at her with the most bewildered look. It took him a moment to realize what she was referring to. He looked over his shoulder at the decrepit village... trying to decipher what she meant. He gasped when the horror finally set in. He looked at the village with fresh eyes... noting the extensive damage that _wasn't_ done by natural causes and through the passage of time. He floated down to investigate further, having not been so close since the day he had overcome to the virus...

He hovered inches over the ground as he looked about. Chunks of buildings missing... having been torn apart by long lost summoned crystal... places where the ground was split and craters resided...

His mind was spinning. But it didn't all come together until he saw a torn apart carriage with a decaying hand grasping out beneath the wreckage.

Mephisto felt like he would retch. He dropped to the ground to his knees, unable to keep himself up any longer.

"What... what have you done, Praxina?" He spoke in a horrified whisper as she floated over to him. Her tears were gone as she stared down at him coldly, her face completely unreadable. Mephisto clenched his teeth as he bit out. Maybe this was all one of her really sick, depraved jokes... maybe, maybe she was just messing with him, "PRAXINA! TELL ME YOU DIDN'T _REALLY_ DO THIS!"

"I had to," her voice was stoic, and empty.

"No..."

"I didn't have a choice,"

"no, No, NO,"

"I couldn't lose you, I couldn't-"

"NO! PRAXINA!" Mephisto scrambled to his feet, his fingers twisting into his hair, tears streaming down his face now, he stared at her and felt himself growing infuriated, "I wasn't... I'm not _worth this_! My life wasn't more than... than Ciella's or old lady Cante... or... or Mr. and Mrs. Diente... they... they had just had a _baby_ , Praxina!"

"They were dead already!" Praxina bellowed at him, "We _all_ were! It was only a matter of time before this would have been all of us, anyway! You, me, the whole village was dying, just like Mom!"

"You're sick." Mephisto shook his head, "This was _wrong_ ,"

"I just... made it quicker for them. Made it faster, easier..." She rationalized, "It was either take the remaining life force of the village and save us or stay here and die slowly next to them. I chose to save us. I did this to _save_ us!"

"Don't... just stop..." Mephisto ordered her, and for once, she obeyed. He took a moment to compose himself. He shook his head to and fro and just started to ramble, "Talia was right... and I was a fool... all this time. I let this all happen..."

"What?"

"She saw you summon a black crystal monster, Praxina!" He barked, and Praxina looked away, resembling a child having been caught in a lie, "Why?! What was it for?"

"That doesn't matter,"

"The hell it doesn't!" Mephisto shouted, "You tell me what's going on, Praxina, right now! Is it Gramorr? What is he having you do!?"

"You never cared before, so why start now?"

"I didn't know..."

"Thats always your excuse," Praxina spat, her voice full of contempt, "Why don't you run back to your precious princess?! Since she's all you seem to care about anymore,"

Mephsito wasn't giving into her bait. Not this time.

"What happened to you, Praxina? How were you even able to do all this? Who taught you dark crystal magic?" Mephisto asked her, but she only grew angrier.

"Don't act like you _care_!" a burst of energy whipped around her, bits of electricity zapping around her. Her face was contorted and dark and it was obvious the dark energy inside her was starting to take over, "Just stay away from me! From now on, I don't need you!"

"Praxina!" He dashed towards her but she vanish in a gust of red and black flames, leaving her brother alone in her wake... Mephisto felt like he was going to start hyperventilating. Though he had never had one before, he felt like he was having a panic attack. His chest felt like it was on fire and all the oxygen he inhaled couldn't find his lungs properly.

He looked at the unknown person buried beneath the torn cart and knew what he had to do. He floated high into the air and took a deep breath. He raised his hands out and encased the forgotten village in green light. He knew they deserved better... they all did, even he and Praxina... but he knew this was the best he could do, for now. He couldn't let the people who gave him his life decay out in the Zanavian sun another moment. Not one more second. Though it wasn't anything close to the proper funeral they all deserved, he would bury the entire village in a mass grave and mark it off so no one would disturb his peoples resting place. It was the least he could do... and he had to do it.

But burying an entire village, even a small one, took an enormous amount of energy. Energy that Mephisto had little of due to his emotional state. He felt the magic slipping through his fingers and he started to panic. He knew if he dropped it, some of bodies could be tossed around, and he couldn't like that happen. He couldn't, he just _couldn't_.

Biting back tears, he nearly lost his grip... when suddenly, the load felt much lighter, somehow. He looked up and saw Talia, standing a glowing blue crystal platform in the sky, on the other side of the village. She formed her own magic circle over his, taking half of the weight.

Together they were able complete the burial, and not a trace of the village could be seen... No sooner had the spell been cast did Mephisto's eyes roll into the back of his head and he started to plummet from the sky. Talia screamed his name and performed a crystal levitus to catch him gently.

She levitated him over to her, and searched his body for toxins with a crystal intrusio spell. She found no trace of any virus inside him. She breathed a sigh of relief. He had just used too much energy on the spell.

...

When Mephisto woke up, Talia was with him, sitting off the side of the bed, dressed in the dress

She had tucked him in and had a cool rag laid against his head.

"Talia?" He whisperd, "Where's Praxina,"

"She's ok. Beatrice is with her," Talia answered. Mephisto moved to get up, but Talia ushered him back down, "Woah there, mister. Where do you think you're doing?"

"I have to see my sister,"

"Not yet," Talia told him sternly, "You are in no condition to be putting yourself in that kind of state again. Also you heard her. She needs some space from you for awhile,"

Mephisto grimaced, settling back down, "How much did you hear?"

Talia sat back in an upright position. For whatever reason, she didn't want to lie to him. She gently spoke.

"I... heard about what she did... to save you," Talia instantly felt horrible for that knowledge, "I'm sorry... I wasn't trying to eaves drop I was just..."

"It's fine," Mephisto's voice was haggard at first... But he put on that forced smile he liked to wear as he looked up at her. The mask was on, he was hiding, "A wife's gotta know all the crazy stuff about her in-laws first right? Or else its entrapment, I hear,"

"You don't have to do that," Talia's face softened to a gentle, but sad expression, "Not right now. Not with me,"

She watched as his face melted into what looked like a sob. His hand caught his face and he cried into his palm. Talia had never seen a grown man cry before... it wasn't something her father ever did... and she wasn't exactly close enough with other men to have seen it, but still... it was odd. She didn't think less of him for it, not at all, it was simply new.

"I can't forgive her... I wont ever be able to forgive for this,"

"Of course you can," Talia told him in the gentlest way possible, reaching out stroking his hair the way her mother did for her when she needed consoling, "It'll be hard... and you may always be hurt by it... but you'll forgive her. You just need time to grieve,"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because... she's your sister," Talia told him, shaking her head and speaking as if the question didn't even make sense, "You need each other... like... like the butterfly and the snake, right?"

Mephisto blinked at her, eyes wide. She finally saw his face all tear-stained and red. His eyes and nose were puffy and he looked at her as if she was the most amazing thing he knew.

"What she did was wrong... very wrong... but she was a _little girl_ watching her the only person she loved dying," Talia rationalized, "I'm not saying it's right but... don't you think if it had been _her_ laying there, instead of you... you would do anything to save her? Even something so horrible as that?"

Mephisto didn't say anything, just listened intently to her. He ingested every word she said, every cadence of her voice. She made a lot of good points... Mephisto momentarily forgot to remember just how very young they had been at the time... Maybe Praxina wasn't some monster, after all. Maybe she just needed his help... Maybe she wasn't so lost like he thought she was.

He looked back at his fiance, practically glowing in the light of the sunrise. Shining in from the window. To think... he never would have realized it if not for Talia... he could have been blind to sister's suffering for years and years... maybe he would have _never_ seen it... and it was all thanks to Talia...

"And besides..." Talia started, but didn't get to finish her sentence. Because Mephisto slammed his face into hers, entrapping her lips in the most passionate of kisses. Talia took only a second, a split second to be startled before responding with gusto. Shaking hands enfolded themselves in her crystal blue hair, clutching her at the neck and scalp to draw her in closer.

Talia needed no coaxing, she folded into him, wrapping her arms around his neck for a better grip.

When Mephisto tore away from her it was only to speak 5 very simple words to her, that he breathed out in an exasperated huff, growled out in a rush as if he was afraid he'd lose his nerve if he didn't say it fast enough.

"I love you, Talia,"

Talia's heart fluttered and she stared at him like a deer in the headlights. This was so... so sudden, so shocking.

"You are the most... when I'm with you I... you're just so..."

"Mephisto, you've been through a lot today, I don't think you should-"

"I mean it, Talia," He insisted, though she was unconvinced. She gave him a face that easily said so, but Mephisto frowned, "You don't believe me? Fine,"

Mephisto slipped out of bed and knelt in front of her on the floor on one knee. He conjured up a simple green crystal ring and presented to her, with the sweetest smile Talia had ever seen.

Talia started to laugh. Another classic Mephisto gag, "Nice try, Meph. We're already engaged, remember?"

"I'm not asking you to marry me because my Uncle threatened war if we don't," Mephisto told her, taking her left hand and holding it close, "I'm asking you... for you,"

"I'm asking you to marry me for _no other reason_ than us to be together... I'm asking you... to... to keep helping me be better and to keep playing parlor games with me and to keep me up all night reading boring things I don't care about. I'm asking...you, Talia, to... _love_ me... if you do... if you _can_ ,"

Talia stared at him with fearful eyes. The gravity of the situation was setting in. She knew that Izira was planning on saving her. Everything she had done up to this point was to fool Mephisto and the others into thinking she was happy...

but she played the game too well, she realized... because she fooled herself along the way.

Watching him like this, hearing his awkwardly romantic words, and tasting his lips against hers...

She didn't want it to stop.

Mephisto saw the pain in her eyes, and assumed to know what she was thinking, "Look, I get it... It's nuts, right? But... I promise, if you don't want this... I'll understand... and everything I said before, about 'walking side-by-side with other people'... I meant. We can do that if you want to,"

"What do you mean?"

"Talia, if you don't wanna be with me, then don't be with me. I know we have to get married, no matter what, but... I wont keep you. We'll live together and share a room, but not a bed. You can see whoever you want and- and when Gramorr dies, I'll let you go... Just like I promised,"

"Mephisto..."

"I just... didn't know... how much you mean to me until just now... the thought of you being unhappy... is just... I can't handle it," He scratched the back of his head, completely blown away by just how much his heart hurt thinking of being married to the woman he loved out of a technicality... and having to step aside for her to be happy with someone else while in that marriage. He knew he could do it for her... but man, that was really, really painful to think about.

"So... _Will_ you marry me, Talia?"

Talia didn't know what to say. What was she to do? In her heart she knew she had very strong feelings for Mephisto... but love? So soon? Did she? Could she?

Looking at him, hazing up at her with those perfect eyes she realized that she had nothing to be afraid of from him... everything she had seen had told her that he was an honest man when it came to her. Was he selfish and immature at times? Of course... but in he time she had been here, he had done everything to help her and keep her happy, despite the situation... despite not liking her very much at first...

She didn't love him, and in truth, she was certain he didn't love her. She was sure he was just overcome with emotions...

But she knew Izira was still planning on coming. She knew that Izira with Iris and Auriana could start a war over this... and she would do it without any regrets. Was Talia truly willing to risk the life of the people that meant the most to her? Especially when there was black crystal magic being used here? Would freedom from the marriage really be worth losing her sister or friends?

She knew that they would give their lives for her happiness. She knew that and felt tremendous guilt... how could she risk their lives when a man so good and pure would promise to treat her with respect and adoration and ask for nothing in return? She was no longer a victim to him. She never was, it seems.

She may not have chosen him, and it was very true that she knew she didn't love him...

"I will," Talia leaned down and planted a kiss on Mephisto's lips. A solid, firm kiss that poured just as much of her heart as he did for his.

She didn't love him, but she knew she was getting there...

and she wanted to.

...

A couple of notes: Mephisto and Praxina were not in danger of contracting the virus again because they already had it as kids and were therefore safe from it due to the spell Praxina used to save them.

More on that later.

also there may or may not be a missing smut chapter posted separately for the next scene =T


	8. Chapter 8

"Do you really have to get up?" A pouty Mephisto asked as Talia started to crawl out of his bed. He gave her a very smarmy smirk, "C'mon... we can have your lessons right here today. As many times as you'd like,"

"Classy," Talia commented, summoning some new clothes since her dress had been ripped to shreds, "But Beatrice will be coming with my breakfast soon, and I'm pretty sure you don't want her to come looking for me in here,"

"True," a reluctant Mephisto sighed, laying back on his pillow, arms tucked lazily behind his head.

"Besides, there's a few things I need to do before the wedding tomorrow,"

"Like what?" Mephisto mocked, "The only good thing about an arranged marriage is that you don't have to do anything. It's all arranged for you," A thought crossed the young man's mind and his face lit up like a child getting a new toy, "Are you planning a surprise for me?"

Talia smirked, "Something like that,"

"Well in that case, go go go, I love surprises! Oh I wonder what it could beee,"

"I guess you'll just have to wait to find out," She told him as she rolled her eyes, placing a kiss on the tip of his nose.

"Will you have lunch with me?" He asked, grabbing her hand to keep her there, just a bit longer. When she gave him a slightly annoyed frown, he quickly blurted, "No, really. Just lunch. In the garden, with food. Like a... date,"

"A picnic?"

"Sure,"

"Isn't it supposed to rain today?" Talia asked him incredulously.

"It should be clear enough by lunch time,"

Talia chuckled, dropping his hand from her grasp before walking to the door. Before slipping away she looked back inside to say, "11:30. I like Floren Blossoms,"

Mephisto lay there, watching the door a solid minute after she had left, feeling so full of life he could hardly stand it. If he didn't already fly all the time, he could have sworn he was floating on air. With a very heavy, relaxed sigh he let his eyes wonder around his bedroom, wondering what it would look like soon once Talia was moved in and settled. He really liked the look of Xerin furniture, but he wasn't sure how Gramorr would feel about her keeping it for much longer... Also, he wondered if she liked his bed or if they'd need to get a new one. He had noted how much more firm her mattress was than his... not that he minded. Mephisto could sleep on anything... But still... the though of Talia becoming his live-in bestie was way too thrilling to not think about.

He imagined all the late nights laying in bed, talking about their days... he could see Talia needing a small lantern by the bed so she could do her late night reading... and he could also see himself having to turn it off for her to make sure she went to bed on time. He wondered if she would like their kids to sleep in the bed with them some nights...

Kids...

Did Talia want kids? Did HE want kids? Huh. Suddenly, Mephisto realized they had a lot to talk about... But he supposed there was plenty of time for that. After all, they had a whole life time to spend together. The thought alone made the young lord fall back onto his bed, squeeing to himself like a love sick fool.

That is... until the thought of his sister came to mind...

He took a deep, somber breath, scratching at his arm and looking at his ceiling. How could he let it get this bad? How could he have not seen, all this time, what has been happening while he was just dancing through their life? All this time... she had been carrying the weight of her guilt... and all she had to show for it was a brother who was too selfish to even see how deeply she was hurt.

Mephisto shut his eyes and let himself think of his sister... and what he needed to do...

...

Talia, once in the seclusion of her own bedroom, shut her windows and barricaded the door before digging out the small keying shaped volcal extra from her top drawer. She crawled into her wardrobe, shutting it behind her, before performing a rather complex defensive spell around her. Once she was good and secure, she opened the device and made the call to her sister, still not completely sure what she was going to say.

"Talia! I wasn't expecting a call from you, is everything all right?" Izira gasped, hardly taking a breath as she spoke, "We really shouldn't be talking on an open line like this,"

"I'm ok, Izira," Talia admitted, a little embarrassed, "And don't worry, I cast a protection spell around me. No one can intercept the call,"

"I'm sorry I didn't respond to your message but we have a lot happening over here and-"

"Thats... kinda what I wanted to talk to you about," Talia told her, trying to find a way to tell her without sounding like an idiot, or worse, "You need to call off the plan,"

"What? Why?"

"Things aren't what we thought they were," Talia tried to explain, "Lord Mephisto is... not what we thought he was at all. He's nothing like his uncle... he's funny and can be so kind and-"

"Talia, what's going on? Don't tell me you've fallen in love with that monster,"

"First of all, he's not a monster. And.. I... I don't know, yet." Talia was being honest, "But I know that I can be happy with him... and if our getting married can save nations from bloodshed then I am happy to do it,"

"Talia, you're scaring me," came Izira's startled reply, "Iris and Auriana said Praxina was using dark crystal magic. If thats true then that ALONE is grounds for Gramorr and his wards being stricken of power and thrown in chains. All we have to do is capture Praxina and prove that she's a dark socerous before the Ephedian king,"

"Praxina is sick, but she isn't dangerous to anyone," Talia urgently spoke, "She isn't in the right head space, Izira. I can't get into it now, but you have to believe me. She needs help, not persecution..."

"How can you be so sure about any of this, Talia?" Izira started to show how scared she was, "You could very well be under a spell right now. The forbidden arts specialize in deception and trickery. How are you sure that Mephisto hasn't bewitched you?"

"I'm not under a spell," Talia scoffed, a hint of a laugh in her voice, "If anything, I'm the one who deceived him... I tricked him into falling in love with me, and I ... Never should have done that. He doesn't deserve it,"

"Talia, I told you to play along and make him happy, not fall for him," Izira criticized.

"I don't want to disappoint you, sister, but I know what I want now," Talia remained firm, but still kept a pleasantness to her tone, "I know you're scared for me, so just see for yourself tomorrow. Come to the wedding, but don't bring your army,"

"Are you sure about this Talia?" Izira asked her gravely, "Once the ceremony has been completed, I can't save you from this..."

"If I'm right, then no one has to get hurt, and everything will be fine," Talia rationalized.

"And if you're wrong?"

Talia's eyes rolled, "Well, then you can always kill Mephisto and take Zanavia for Xeris,"

"That would be a given, sister," Izira sighed at her sisters attempt to lighten the mood, "Very well. We'll be in Zanavia by sundown tomorrow, just before the wedding, until then, be safe,"

"Love you, Izira,"

"I love you more, Talia,"

The communication ended as Izira clutched the volcal extra tightly in her hands. The glass around the frame clicked as if it were close to cracking in her grasp. Before Talia had called, she had just sat down to discuss the plan with the aforementioned allies. Iris and Auriana, and even Princess Lyna from Borialis had all traveled the distance to discuss the final plan, but were rather surprised by the news... well, Auriana and Iris weren't THAT surprised... but still.

"So thats it, then?" Auriana hesitantly asked, "She doesn't want our help, anymore?"

"I guess you were right about Mephisto all along, Auriana," Iris said thoughtfully.

"Mephisto and his sister may be just pawns, but we _know_ that Gramorr is planning something. Regardless of his knowledge of it, Mephisto may still be a threat," Izira finally spoke, casting a somber quiet to befall the room. Her purple orbs opened, her face focused and quite intense. She looked around the table, rising to her feet."Tell your troops to be on stand by. We wont do anything to risk my sisters well being, but I want them ready to attack if this goes the way I fear it will,"

...

"My, my, do my eyes deceive me or is that really the young lord in my kitchen?" Beatrice mused, watching Mephisto floating around, shuffling about, looking for something, "What are you doing, Lord Mephisto?"

"I am trying to find those damn spicy cookies," Mephisto growled, "But I've been in here for 20 minutes and I can't find them anywhere!"

Beatrice chuckled, "You mean the ones with the little chunks of candied peppers? Aren't those your sisters favorite"

"Yeah, I mean... I like them, too,"

"If I recall correctly you told me you never wanted to see another red-hot-chip cookie again so long as you lived,"

"Things... change," Mephisto tried to act casual as he folded his arms over his chest.

"uh Huh... well, we don't keep those laying around in here, anymore. You'll have to make them,"

"Great! Go ahead and throw those together, and while you're at it, how about putting together a nice picnic for me and Talia?"

Beatrice gave the young lord such a sour face it made him chuckled a bit and loosen his collar. Without her even saying a word, he continued, "Or.. uh... would you please make the cookies while I put together a picnic for me and Talia?"

"Sounds good," Beatrice nodded, much happier with that suggestion. She tossed an apron at Mephisto and started gathering ingredients for the cookies. She watched him out of the corner of her eye selecting items to be set out and putting together his meal. She couldn't help but smile, remembering all the times he and his sister would follow her to the kitchen and insist on helping with the meal... though usually all they did was make even more of a mess for her to clean, it was still something she remembered so fondly, but, sadly, those days were long over...

"Beatrice! HELP! I spilled oil and its ruining the SANDWICHES!"

...or maybe things weren't as different, after all...

...

Praxina had been half expecting the knock at her door... she knew her brother would try to come talk to her, but she didn't expect for him to come with a bouquet of flowers and a plate of cookies. Her bedroom sported a gloriously large bay window with comfy seats going all around, she was seated on one of the seats at the window sill, looking out at the rain falling from the sky, which she turned to look back at when she saw him enter.

"What are those for?" She asked coldly, "Got a date with Talia after this sympathy visit?"

"Actually yes," His chest puffed with pride as he strolled elegantly into the room. He did a little spin in his steps before getting to her and jutting the plate of cookies towards her, "But these, sweet sister, are for you,"

"Ew, no thank you,"

Mephisto smiled at her, placing the bouquet down on her bed and the cookies at her small table before taking a seat in the silk chair a few feet from her.

"We uh... never had a fight like that before,"

"You never found out I was a monster before," She kept her eyes transfixed at the sky.

"You're not a monster, Prax," He told her, placing a hand on her shoulder. She tensed and looked at him over her shoulder, "You were just a scared kid who got into something dangerous and scary... but it's gonna be ok,"

Praxina's hardness began to soften as she looked at him a bit more, fully, though kept her body turned away...

"I... I don't think what you did was right, and... by the gods, I wish you hadn't... but I get it. And... and I forgive you for it," He told her sincerely, "And if I'm being honest... I would probably would have took out all of Zanavia if our places had been switched... I... I can't imagine how horrible that must have been for you... I'm just sorry you've had to live with it all on your own,"

Praxina bit her lip and turned away from him, but he could see the shaking of her shoulders indicating she was holding back tears. He moved to sit next to her, knowing he had to be very careful with affection when it came to her. He put his hand under her chin and made her look at him.

"You were right..." she sniffed, "I'm sick... I feel like I'm losing myself, Mephisto,"

"...I know," Came Mephisto's pained reply. In truth, he was so worried for her, worried so much that it made him sick. He kicked himself mentally over a thousand times over how he could not notice sooner... how he couldn't see what was happening to his own sister

"... but you're not lost, Praxina. You're right here, with me," He smiled at her, "And you're going to be ok. We're going to get through this. You and me,"

"And Talia,"

"C'mon, don't be like that," He sighed.

"I just can't believe you've fallen so madly in love with her in like 5 minutes," It had meant to be a dig, a way to get her brother on the defensive and deny it and cause a little fight... But he honestly shocked her when he responded softly.

"Yeah... me neither," After a small pause he made sure to add, "Actually... you should be thanking her,"

"Unlikely,"

"No, really. You know how big a doofus I can be,"

"I definitely do,"

"Well, She helped me see things better... see them from your point of view," Mephisto shrugged with a smile, "I'd probably still be ready to never speak to you if not for her,"

Praxina went back to glaring out the window, clearly lost in a thought that upset her. Mephisto didn't have time to ask her what it was because a small purple crystal appeared with Lord Gramorr's form in it, asking an audience with him in the throne room. Mephisto agreed relunctantly, then turned his attention back to Praxina when the crystal vanished.

"Any clue what thats about?"

Praxina shook her head, indicating she didn't, but she oddly quiet about it.

"Well, better go see what he wants," Mephisto stretched as he stood, "Is it cool if I leave my flowers in here? I'll come back for them in a bit,"

"This isn't your storage locker, Mephisto,"

"It'll just be a minute," Mephisto stuck his tongue out at her as he mozied out the door. Praxina sighed heavily as she watched him leave, then turned to look at the bouquet sitting on her bed...

A tinge of guilt struck her but she brushed it away, going back to stare out her window and try to forget about what she had done... and how badly her brother was about to hurt.

...

" Mephisto, come in," Gramorr said, his voice sounded... Mephisto was certain he had never heard that particular tone from his uncles voice... he sounded... concerned? Was that even possible?

"Is everything ok, Uncle Gramorr?"

"Well... My boy... something has... come up," Gramorr rose to his towering height and walked across the throne room towards his adoptive nephew. A clawed hand manifested a purple glow as a vocal extra appeared in his grasp, "This was found in Princess Talia's room..."

"You were looking through her things?" Mephisto glowered at his uncle, unhappy that Talia's privacy was invaded.

"I'm sorry to admit it, but it was a good thing we did," Gramorr excused, but Mephisto didn't lighten up. He was becoming increasingly more frustrated on Talia's behalf.

"Lord Gramorr, with all due respect, are you kidding me!?" Mephisto exclaimed, "What more do you want from her? She has come all this way, followed all the rules and changed her entire cultural identity all because you asked her to! And now she can't even have her personal space not invaded!?"

Gramorr was quiet for awhile, his hand encasing the vocal extra gently, dropping his hand to hang at his side. He deeply sighed and shook his head with disappointment.

"So I don't care _whats_ on that vocal extra you found," Mephisto told him, adding a bit of a bite to his tone, "I want nothing to do with it,"

Mephisto braced himself for his punishment, knowing that he was certainly going to get it, yet he found himself not caring. Mephisto was just fine with being pushed around by the tyrant but he was significantly less ok with Talia being mistreated.

"You've grown quite fond of her, I know. In fact, I'd say you're quite smitten with her," his words surprised Mephisto, having never known his uncle to speak so patiently to such an outburst, "but it seems that was her plan all along, my boy,"

"What are you talking about?" Mephisto asked, his frustration only growing, "This whole engagement was YOUR idea,"

"Oh Mephisto... it pains me to tell you... but it seems Princess Talia has been conspiring with her sister and other princesses to take our kingdom... and they used you to get the information they needed to form their plan," Gramorr explained, his voice laced with deceptive concern, "She never cared for you, or ever entertained the idea of making this union work..."

"Wuh...Thats crazy," Mephisto brushed off, "What information could they get from me? I don't have anything that could be used against Zanavia,"

"What about your sister and her little hobby?"

Mephisto's blood ran cold. No...

"What?"

Gramorr placed the vocal extra in Mephisto's hand and left the throne room, leaving Mephisto alone. The weight of the glittering blue diamond felt enormous in Mephisto's palm, despite it actually being quite light. He stared at it. Could Gramorr be lying to test him or something? Why would he do that? To what end? But he... he HAD To be lying, right? Talia would never...

Mephisto thought back to the first day Talia stayed with them... it seemed like it was so long ago, but it had only been a few days... she made it very clear she hated him, no matter how nice he tried to be. Hell, she even told him to die, didn't she? And then... the very next day she was hugging his arm and saying how much she wanted to try... for peace, she said... please be patient with me, she said...

He was starting to doubt, starting to panic. Was everything he knew about her... about them... was it all a lie? A giant con for power and superiority?

Mephisto couldn't fight it to contain his pained curiosity. He needed to know. He needed to see if his sister was in danger... if his love was a lie... he everything he had given his soul to was poisoned. So, through gritted teeth he performed a quick spell to see what was on the device.

A blue light flooded the dimly lit throne room, and he saw both Izira and Talia's sides of the conversation, the recordings shown speaking to each other.

"Talia! I wasn't expecting a call from you, is everything all right?" Izira gasped, hardly taking a breath as she spoke, "We really shouldn't be talking on an open line like this,"

The sisters spoke about some grand, horrible plan... using the information Talia gained from Praxina's confession from the village and Mephistos story about their childhood. He watched in shock as the holo-Talia explained to her sister in great detail about how Praxina was a threat to herself and everyone around her and it was in the best interest of the entire planet that she dealt with as soon as possible, dead or alive, though it was probably better she be killed due to her volatile nature... Touching on weaknesses in the young Lady's fighting capabilities Talia gleaned from their training session.

They spoke in such a plain, methodical way... it wasn't objectively cruel or even malicious. It was as if they were assigning each other chores to do about the palace. Mephisto felt his skin crawl just listening to how cold and direct they spoke about killing his sister.

Then Izira asked "Will Mephisto cause trouble when we take Praxina out?"

"He may try," Talia's serious tone broke in a stifled laugh, "But the young lord is too pathetic to be a threat to anyone,"

"We don't want to take any chances, if his sister is practicing in dark magic, then its possible he may be a threat as well," Izira responded, "He should be dealt with as well. Will that be a problem?"

"None whatsoever,"

"Very well. We'll be in Zanavia by sundown tomorrow, just before the wedding, until then, be safe,"

"Love you, Izira,"

"I love you more, Talia,"

How could he have known that the conversation he watched between the Xerin sisters was altered with dark magic? How could he have every painful word, stabbing at his heart, had just been a distortion from the truth? He couldn't, so he didn't. All he had was the stinging pain between his ears.

As the hologram concluded, Mephisto was left staring in the emptiness of the room where it once was, tears rolling down his face and in complete shock. He was frantically trying to come up with some excuse, something, anything that would explain it... surely, surely he couldn't have been so so wrong about her. Not Talia... not her. Not after everything...

How could she have left his bed and go straight to plotting his demise? He was exactly what she thought of him. He was a joke. An absolute joke. She was probably laughing at him. And he had confessed his love to her... poured his heart and soul and gave her his body and submitted to her in nearly every way.

He CRIED in front of her!

"I'm sorry, my boy," A hand found Mephisto's shoulder sympathetically, "Unfortunately, you're not the first man to be deceived by a Xerin woman... and you wont be the last... it is just their nature,"

"I... I don't know what to think..." Mephisto's voice cracked, choking back his tears, wiping at his eyes with his sleeve.

"I think its high time I show you exactly what I chose you for, Mephisto," Gramorr said sportively, "And I think you'll find it most... enlightening,"

...

When Talia saw Mephisto standing under the tree where they had their first, though rough, conversation, she picked up her pace to a quick trot to get to him quicker.

"Hey, Mephisto," She greeted, a big smile on her face, "I don't wanna give anything away, but your surprise is all ready for tomorrow,"

"Is that so?" Mephisto said darkly.

"Yeah..." Talia caught his tone instantly, then glanced around, noticing a distinct lack of food and picnic items, "Uh... where's lunch?"

Mephisto was silent, his eyes shut softly. He didn't move from his position an inch since she came out, not even to look at her... He just leaned against the large trunk of the crystal tree, his arms folded firmly over his chest and his head lowered. He looked... darker to Talia... Concerned for his well being, Talia touched his shoulder, which he didn't even respond to.

He felt... cold.

"Mephisto... is everything alright?"

He didn't say anything to her and Talia felt a sense of dread. It was clear he was extremely upset... he had a look on his face that she had only seen earlier that morning... when he spoke about Praxina as if he was giving up on her. Did something happen with Praxina? Was he in trouble?

"Mephisto, talk to me," Talia begged, "Whatever it is, I'm sure-"

"You must... You must think I'm the biggest loser on Ephedia..."

"What?" A sense of pure dread washed over Talia.

"You know, all my life... people of higher birth have done whatever they could to remind me of how I'm nothing but orphan trash," His eyes remained shut, his tone collected and eerily voice of emotion, so unlike him. He shook his head as a pained smiled spread on his face,"But you, _oh babe_ , you just took the wedding cake,"

"What are you talking about?"

"And you were so convincing at it..." He ignored her, opening his eyes to look up at the sky. He pushed himself off the tree to circle the Xerin who was growing increazingly scared of the man she was certain would never harm her merely moments ago, "I mean... I keep thinking about just how real it felt... and I am, seriously, impressed. Fuck. You even SLEPT with me for your con," he finished to coldly add, "Really, I applaud your determination. Must be that _Xerin dexterity_ ,"

"Mephisto, I would never-"

He held out the vocal extra show her, stealing the words right from her mouth. Talia felt her throat tightening. Her eyes fell on it, then back to Mephisto in a panic. He glared at her through glistening eyes, full of tears that refused to spill. The look on her face was one of guilt and panic, Mephisto could see it. It was all he needed to fully believe what he saw. He squeezed the vocal extra in his hands, threatening to break the damn thing.

"I..."

"You played me for a _FOOL_!" He screamed, the aforementioned tears finally fell, and in his shock, or embarrassment of them, he buried his face in his palm and threw the vocal extra to the ground. The object shattered, cracking open and fizzling out. Mephisto shot his face back up to look at her. There was a redness to his cheeks as he screamed, "Well I'm done being played by you and everyone else!"

Talia gasped, staring at the man with the dark aura growing around him. Something was very very wrong with him. He wasn't himself... it was as if he was being corrupted by something the more he spoke. Could he... Could he have been bewitched by dark crystal, as well?

"Mephisto, you have to listen,"

"No! You listen! You can treat me like a joke all you want! I'm used to it by now! But you... you went after my sister! You used her sickness and our suffering to... to _manipulate_ me... and whats worse, tried to have her taken away from me!" Mephisto shouted at her, his face twisted and contorted in pain, "No one is going to take Praxina away from me! Not you, not your sister, not every army in all of Ephedia! Get your laughs in, now, Talia... because this joke has just reached it's punchline!"

Before Talia could say another word, she felt her new green crystal engagement ring on her left hand start to get very, very cold, like ice biting at her skin. She screamed, trying to get it off her hand, but suddenly, In a burst of darkness, the ring grew in the blink of an eye and encased the princess in a green black crystal cage that Mephisto could manipulate at his will.

"If its a war you all want, well, then, congratulations, Princess... because you have it!"

...

Dark Mephisto is not Mephisto without puns. Its a fact.


	9. Chapter 9

Mephisto rushed to his sister who was waiting at the door, he drew her into his arms, suddenly, shockingly... but he pressed her to his chest as tightly as he could, his body tense and rigid. Praxina could feel the darkness saturating his entire form, she knew it because it was the same darkness she had been fighting for so long.

"Mephisto..."

" _No one_ is going to separate us, Praxina," He swore to her, "We've been pushed around too long and I'm not gonna take it,"

"What are you going to do with Talia?" Praxina asked, hesitantly as her brother walked away from her. Praxina knew Gramorrs plan. She knew that the idea was to have the wedding go as planned, gathering all the Ephedian royals in one room together, and then, once the doors were shut, Praxina and Mephisto were to create a dark crystal monster to attack, then Gramorr would swoop in and finish the job. Effectively destroying the rest of the worlds monarchs, so that he could reign as supreme ruler of all Ephedia. But the one loose end was Talia. What Gramorr wanted to do with her was still a mystery to Praxina.

"Once she has served her purpose, Gramorr wants her destroyed with the rest,"

"Are you... could you really let that happen?" Praxina asked him. She watched his back as it trembled slightly at the thought. He straightened up and kept walking, back to the throne room to see his uncle once again, leaving Praxina alone with her anguish.

She looked over at Talia, who was still trapped in her crystal cage in the garden, then turned to follow her brother.

Talia was much too far to hear what the siblings were discussing, but waited until they were gone before she attempted to contact her sister... but it failed. She tried Iris, again it failed. She tried Auriana, then Lyna... but nothing was going through. She was starting to panic, her mind wrought with worry for way too many to count. Mephisto, at the moment, was at the forefront of her mind. She knew how corruptive dark crystal magic could be... but she was so sure Mephisto would be strong enough to stay away from it. But what were the Zanavians planning? How in danger had she put her family? Her friends? Her people? Gods, WHY did she tell Izira to come without her army?

No time to think. No time to worry. She had to escape.

"Crystal PACTAS!" Talia shouted, hitting the dark crystal bar infront of her, but the bars remained firm, nearly breaking her fist when it collided. Talia screamed as the pain seared through her bones, but she couldn't give up. She tried it again, in the same spot, "Crystal... PACTUS!"

Again, nothing but pain.

Deciding to switch tactics, she tried a different spell.

"Crystal OFFESNIO!" Blue crystals went flying into the bars, but only shattered on impact.

Talia growled. She wasn't going to give up.

...

After being dismissed from Gramorr's throne room, the twins made their way back to the training room to practice forming a crystal beast. Since Praxina had not been able to do it alone, yet, Gramorr had hoped that with her brothers help, they should be able to pull it off.

Problem was, it took practice. A lot of practice.

After about 16 failed attempts, together they shouted, "Aterodere!" and the ground began to glow as out from the light came a small, puny little crystal monster no bigger than a snupple with one leg and 4 eyeballs. Mephisto scoffed and stomped on the creature, poofing it out of existence. He looked over at his sister with annoyance.

"I thought you said they're supposed to be huge,"

"They are," Praxina countered, "You must not be doing it right,"

"I'm doing it the way Gramorr told me how," He barked back at her, "I said the words, I concentrated my magical force and I am completely _consumed_ with rage. What more is there to do?"

"Nothing. Thats all there is to it," Praxina responded, her arms crossing her chest. She took a moment to collect her thoughts. She knew exactly why the spell wasn't working... and it had nothing to do with Mephisto... Truth was, seeing him like this... affected her in a way she hadn't planned. She never wanted any of this. She never wanted any of this for him... For the first time in years, she didn't feel infuriated... granted, she didn't know how she felt, but it wasn't wrath.

"Well lets do it again,"

"Mephisto," Praxina started. He looked over at her and she shifted the weight in her stance, looking off in the distance before looking back at him, "You don't have to do this. I can probably manage the monster without you,"

"What? No you can't, Gramorr said-"

"Forget what Gramorr said," Praxina cut him off, "Gramorr doesn't care what happens to us,"

"Of course he doesn't," Mephisto dementedly chuckled, "He's in great company, though, isn't he? I mean, name anyone in this entire fucking planet who does,"

"What about your friend, Lev?"

Mephisto snorted, "Lev only cares about himself,"

"What about that Calix Princess? The one who's always at that tavern you go to?"

"The only thing Carissa and I have in common is punching," Mephisto responded, rolling his eyes.

Praxina, now having tested the waters, decided to go in for the big kill, glancing at her brother out of only the corner of her eyes as she asked,

"Well... what about Beatrice?"

Mephisto didn't respond. His eyes went dark and his whole form seemed to loom with an ominous shade. Praxina braced herself for his reply, but it didn't come as soon as she expected it. She watched his fists knot so tight the fabric of his glove squeaked slightly, stretching at the seams. There was a distinct single twitch to his brow and a tremble at his lower lip.

"Or Tali-"

Before Praxina could finish saying the Xerin Princesses name, a dark green crystal rushed passed her face, shattering at the wall behind her. Her eyes popped open in a gasp, looking at her brother who was glaring at her with an expression he had never sported before.

"Don't,"

"You love her, how can you let Gramorr just off her with everyone else? How can you possibly be ok with this plan?"

"You've been in on this for fucking YEARS! Why the concern all of a sudden?" Mephisto asked her.

"Because you were never supposed to..." Praxina started, choking on her own words. She took a moment before sharply saying, "This isn't you. I don't care what happens to anyone else... but I need you to be you,"

"Oh right. Me to be me. The drunk stoner loser Mephisto who is everyones fucking joke, right?" Mephisto ranted, "The fucking asshole who was too self absorbed to see his sister drowning in front of him! The magnificent moron who was too fucking stupid to not think it suspect that someone like... Like _her_ could actually love someone like him! Thats the guy? FUCK THAT GUY!"

"YES THAT GUY!" Praxina shouted, "Because that guy was my brother! And if you think I'm going to let some angsty teen wannabe villain like you take him away from me, then you're even stupider than HE is!"

"There is no 'he' Praxina. It's just me," Mephisto told her coldly, "I'm done with who I was. I'm done. Hate me if you want, but I don't care. I wont let you do this alone anymore,"

Praxina watched her brother storm off, out the training hall and fly away. To where, she didn't know. She dropped to her knees and wept, choking out loud, heavy sobs that she had refused to cry for years. For years she hadn't shed a single tear... thinking she was not deserving of the relief it brings... She covered her mouth as she heaved, feeling like she would vomit.

She could handle hating herself... she couldn't handle seeing her brother hate himself.

...

"Crystal... solvenda..." An exhausted Talia panted, trying another spell before falling forward, catching herself on her arms. She had long since dropped to her knees, but had continued to try to break through the bars. She hadn't even so much as chipped the crystal. She let out a loud groan, clearly nearly out of energy. She felt a string of drool fall from her lips as she forced herself back up. She was getting delirious, hearing Izira scold her. Telling her that she was being too head strong, too stubborn. Sometimes brute strength isn't the solution.

The sun had long since set. In less that 24 hours Talia would be find out Gramorr's horrible plan. She would finally know what the passed ten years have lead up to... and she will have helped him in handing over everyone she's ever cared about. She wanted to cry. She wanted to give in to her exhaustion and collapse, but she knew she had to keep trying.

For her parents...

"Crystal Colidum!"

For Iris... and Auriana,

"Crystal Offensio!"

For her sister...

"Crystal... Felcto!"

For... Mephisto...

Tears stung her eyes as she screamed, "CRYSTAL CAPTO!"

And still the bars remained. She crumbled, collapsing in her exhaustion, sobbing. Her hands were trembling with the excessive use of her magic. She had used up her body's active energy and had started draining her own life force hours ago. It wasn't possible to kill yourself using light crystal magic but you certainly could shave a few years off your life before passing out. And Talia felt herself start to get foggy. Maybe if she had actually eaten something that day other than 2 eggs and some toast for breakfast, she would be a bit stronger. Maybe if she had practiced everytime Izira told her to... Maybe... Maybe if she had called off her rescue from the start... maybe... maybe... maybe...

With one, last ditch of a pathetic attempt, Talia tried to summon her circle, but the light was dim, and flickered weakly. She couldn't even say a spell, just punched the base of the bar directly before her, laying on the stomach, completely spent and pathetic...

"Get up," A crisp female voice told her, harshly.

Talia was completely delusional at this point, but in her hazy state, her heart leapt at the thought of the one person she longed it to be more than anyone. She forced her eyes back open and craned her neck just enough to make out the shadowy form...

"I-Izira?" She asked hopefully.

"You're a mess," The person commented, "Have you been trying to escape this whole time?"

Talia blinked as her vision started to kick in a bit better. The lurking character finally came into view, but it surprised her.

"Pruh-Praxina?" Talia gasped, "Why are you here?"

Praxina glared at her, her stance not shifting, not changing. The young sorceress was just standing there, her arms folded over her chest and looking hard... but Talia was shocked to see a softness in her gaze that seemed new. A hopefulness, perhaps? Phew. Talia must have been more out of it than she though.

"Gods, you can barely stand, much less perform a spell, now," Praxina cursed.

"Wha...? What do you mean?" Talia stammered, trying to focus on not-passing out as she spoke, "What are you doing here, Praxina?"

Praxina hesitated, as if still mulling over her decisions. Her brow twitched furiously and she took a moment to glance around herself, making sure no one was around.

"If I help you... can you promise nothing bad will happen to my brother?"

Talia wanted to ask her what she meant, she wanted to say something... but she felt herself start to slip away into the darkness, only to be pulled back when Praxina shouted.

"Don't you fall asleep, princess! Listen to me!" Crouching low to look Talia in the eyes, Praxina dropped her voice back to whisper, "If I get you out of this... will you help my brother?"

"huh...?" Talia was fading fast.

"Mephisto! If I can... If I help you, I need you to promise he'll be ok," Praxina clarified, "Can you do that? Can you save him?"

"I..." Talia couldn't hold it off anymore. Her body was totally spent... and she gave into the darkness that was enfolding her. Praxina watched as Talia's eyes rolled shut and her hair turn a dull brown, all the magic energy in her body evacuating.

Praxina cursed and rose to her feet. She was on her own.

Again.

...

Talia awoke with a start in her bedroom back on Xeris. She gasped, taking it all in. Everything was there... her opal bookshelf, her hundreds of books, her art work, her furniture... even her favorite pillow...

"But how...?" She asked in a hushed whisper. It was then that she realized she was wearing the most exquisite of gowns, as if she really was getting married. Diamonds dripped from her and, upon catching her own reflection, Talia couldn't believe how absolutely enchanting she looked.

There was a knock at the door, but before waiting to be let in, in waltzed Mephisto, dressed to the nines as well.

"Hello my darling," He smiled so sweetly at her, his posture upright and inviting and not the slightest hint of darkness in his tone or aura.

"Mephisto... Whats going on?" Talia asked him, breathless, "What are we... doing here?"

"Oh, Talia, you jokester, you," He laughed, taking her by the hand and leading her to stand, he gave her a little spin and pulled her close to his chest, "You know we're on our honeymoon,"

"Honeymoon?"

"Of course," He laughed, throwing back the curtain that fell over her window. The intense heat that poured out onto her face from the open air was overwhelming... but the stench nearly made Talia retch, "anything for my princess,"

She gasped in horror at the sight of her kingdom... burning...

There was black crystal everywhere, jutting up from the ground, and tearing into the scenery. Talia could hear children crying, men screaming... the smell of tar and burnt flesh was all consuming and the sight of what she had done nearly drew Talia over the edge...

"What have you done!?"

"It's so beautiful here, almost as beautiful as you, my love," Mephisto whispered, pulling her into his arms. Talia wept on his chest, too terrified to move, "Oh, look, honey, it's your family!"

Talia tore away from him to cast her gaze downward. Sure enough, she saw them, covered in chains and laying lifelessly on the ground... Izira having just been struck by a dark crystal, piercing her through the middle and coming out through her back. Talia let out a silent scream, seeing her sister's blood pool out from her before landing beside their parents, eyes wide as all the life inside was drained.

Talia looked to find who had shot her sister... who was the one who had done all this...

Blinking through the light of the flames, Talia could make out the culprit little by little. The dark, female form cutting through the wreckage was none other than... Talia herself, though her hair was a dark, midnight blue and she wore all black, wrapped in silver and purple bindings, a dark smirk on her lips.

...

Golden orbs popped open, and Talia gasped heavily... but when she saw that she was still in the green cage in the garden, she had to feel atleast a little relief. It was only a dream... There was still time. The sun, however, was peaking over the mountains and she knew time was still running out...

She didn't know how, but she felt 100% better than before. As if all her magical energy had been returned in a shot. She gave herself a moment to think of a plan. She knew trying to attack the bars was foolish, and yielded nearly no results... all it would do was weaken her again.

She had to think of it in another way... but how?

She wasn't given much time, however, because 3 guards appeared, clearly having been corrupted by the black crystal magic, as well. They didn't speak to her, though she demanded they answer her questions. They simply tore down her cage. Talia took a chance to run, but was overpowered, two of the guards grabbing her while the third took a small black crystal and shoved it into the base of her neck, under all her hair. Talia screamed, the pain was incredible... but she then felt... nothing... her entire body was completely numb and she found her body moving without her consent.

"Come, Princess, its time to prepare for the wedding," One of the guards finally spoke, and Talia, unable to fight it, smiled so sweetly at them.

"Of course, I'm so happy," She said. She took to following the guards to the castle, a bright smile on her features.

 _Whats going on!? What have they done to me!? STOP! I have to stop!_

...

Iris and Auriana were the first to make it to Zanavia, opting to go early to scout out the scene. Their early arrival wouldn't be suspected as they had already made plans to help with Talia's preparations.

So, leaving their small caravan at the palace gate (and with each about a hundred soldiers, waiting by a portal opener in their respective kingdoms) the princess besties made their way inside and instantly Iris felt something was off... but she couldn't place it. They had been let inside, and brought to Princess Talia's bedroom. Auriana took Iris's hand, clearly being nervous about the increased number of guards around them... and where was Beatrice and the other hand maidens? Despite saying they knew the way to Talia's room and needed no assistance, they were still escorted.

They were brought to her door, and with no hesitation, Iris banged on the door, exclaiming, "Talia! It's Iris and Auriana, are you ok?"

The door opened, and Iris and Auriana gasped in shock to see their childhood best friend dressed in the most extravagant Zanavian style gown they had ever seen. Silver from head to toe, with black and purple and blue trimming. Lace and metal and spiraling designs all over. She had her gorgeous ice blue hair rolled up in a tight, intricate bun and had the most gorgeous of tiaras holding up her black veil.

How could they have known that their friend was actually trapped inside her own body, still trying to claw her way back to reality. Mentally, Talia was screaming when she saw her friends, looking at her with wide eyes.

 _IRIS! AURIANA! HELP ME!_

"Of course I'm ok, sillies," Talia smiled at them, blushing a bit, "It's my wedding day,"

...

This isn't Dancing Shoes, kids.

Talia is not a minless zombie... she's mentally aware but her body is moving and acting without her able to stop it. She is not a slave.

Ok. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

When Mephisto saw Talia, he was surprised to say the least. She looked... happy. Her eyes were downcast and a soft smile was on her face. He knew he shouldn't have been shocked. He knew the plan. He knew she would be being controlled by dark magic to comply to the wedding... he simply hadn't expected her to be so... empty looking.

"Mephisto," She said, beaming up at him, "I'm so happy,"

He didn't say anything, just offered his arm to her. Talia giggled and took his arm in hers. She pressed closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder, her fingers encasing his arm and snuggling him sweetly.

"This is the best moment of my entire life,"

The music started and the curtain was pulled back. Arm in arm, the two made their way to the center of the giant rounded chamber. Mephisto moved to the side to allow Talia sit delicately on her floor pillow, before taking his seat at his right across from her.

The Zanavain wedding ceremony was very simple. The two intended sat across from each other next to a large purple crystal, the corner stone of the entire country. Bride and groom would place both their hands against the stone, casting a simple spell that made it glow a bright, beautiful pinkish-purple color that lit up the entire room. The crystal would then connect their souls to each other, binding them forever.

Just as the light started to fill the room, Izira got a slight chill. The attendance was surprisingly small for a royal wedding. With the exception of the main royals and their families, there were actually very few real guests. This made Izira quite suspicious... making a point to keep an eye on the doors.

Suddenly, Mephisto and Talia removed their hands from the crystal, breaking the spell and stopping the wedding altogether.

Just as Izira had suspected dark crystal suddenly shot out from out of nowhere, encasing all the doors and windows so everyone inside was trapped. The light from the crystal stopped and everyone began to get very nervous. Izira rose to her feet, cursing to herself inwardly.

A deep, rolling cackle echoed through the chamber and Gramorr began to speak, "Fools. All of you, fools,"

Praxina flew over to stand by her brother, who was also rising to his feet next to his bride, who was still smiling ear to ear.

Izira didn't hesitate, she charged at the wedding party, summoning her crystal saber. She had expected Mephisto or Praxina to go on the defensive, but she was shocked that it was her own sister who deflected the attack. Izira gasped in shock, looking at Talia's serene face.

"T-Talia! What are you doing?"

"Be happy for me, sis," Talia giggled so sweetly, "Its my wedding day,"

Praxina and Mephisto conjured up the dark crystal monster, just as Gramorr had planned. It was a hulking, burly beast... but lean and quick. It looked something of a werewolf, eyes dark like coal and teeth sharp as daggers.

"If surrender your kingdoms to me, I will let you live out the rest of your lives in peace," Gramorr promised, appearing in smoke at the center of the room, by his wards, "In a dungeon cell, of course,"

"We would never surrender to the likes of you!" The Ephedian king shouted, raising a sword to Gramorr.

Gramorr said nothing, but effortlessly shattered the sword using a dark crystal spell.

Izira whistled, and her small but faithful pet, Amaru came hopping out of her handbag. He shook his head in confusion, having had fallen asleep in his during the ceremony. ( _A/N: and yall thought I forgot about him huh? Well for your information my headcanon has always been that Amaru was Xerin cos he had Talia's shanila pic. Maybe he was Iziras, also, which is why he's so protective of the princesses_ )

"AMARU!" Izira shouted, and the little guy ran over to her, transforming into a beautiful winged beast. He dashed over to Izira, without halting his speed, and Izira climbed aboard him, sword out and ready to fight. She flew over to the Princesses, who were already attacking the wolf monster. She ordered them to work together to keep it busy, and informed them she would be going after Gramorr.

Izira summoned her weapon from the medallion, a Xerin shield that was as beautiful as it was strong. She kicked at Amaru, urging him to fly at the villain himself, figuring she may be able to put an end to this whole thing if she took him out.

Gramorr, who was busy fighting with the other kings, and making sport of them all, glanced over at the eldest princess who was charging at them. Without even breaking his gaze with the other kings, he rose his hand and a giant black crystal wave shot up from the ground and collided with Izira and Amaru. Amaru transformed back into a small puppycat before they hit the ground. However, Izira's body was flung so hard she hit the ceiling of the chamber, and fell back down onto a piece of the black crystal. She let out a horrified scream, as the sharp shard pierced through her leg, entirely.

Talia's smiling face began to leak from the eyes and tremble at the sight. Inside, Talia was pulling on the chains that held her consciousness. She screamed, she cried and thrashed and thrashed since being locked away by that dark crystal bead in the back of her skull...

But when she saw her sister... laying there, bleeding and screaming with a wound that could cripple her forever... if she wasn't killed... it was enough for Talia to shatter the metaphorical chains, and for the dark bead controlling her to crack in half and fall to the ground.

 _IZ-_

"-IRA!" The smile contorted into a loud scream, as the color came back to her eyes. She tore away from Mephisto's side and ran to her sister, dropping to her knees.

"Talia... is it really you?" Izira panted out, a slight smile coming to her face. Talia wept. She had to act quickly. Tears were flowing down her face as she apologized over and over.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Izira, it's all my fault, I am so so so sorry," Talia begged as she pulled the dark crystal through her sisters leg, and made a makeshift bandage by tearing her dress skirt. Izira was strong, but the necessary procedure was painful, and she hissed and grunted as Talia worked.

"Mephisto! Praxina!" Gramorr shouted, "if you're not too buys- DESTROY THE PRINCESSES! Starting with those XERIN PESTS!"

Mephisto formed his sword, and flew over to the sisters, who were still wrapped in their own scene. Talia hadn't even heard the command from the dark lord. Mephisto came dangerously close to her back, pulling back his blade to plunge into his bride, but a loud CLANG alerted both princesses and looked up... and gasped.

"Praxina, what are you DOING!?" Mephisto asked, Praxina having flown between him and the princesses, and deflected his blade with her own, "Stand aside!"

"I wont let you kill her," Praxina told him sternly, "She means too much to you. You'll never recover from it if you do!"

"No! Once she's gone I'll be rid of all this... this...!" Mephisto gestured to his head, indicating the darkness that he was feeling.

"Once she's gone you'll be lost FOREVER!" Praxina shouted. She gasped when her brother swung his sword at her. She parried, and took a step back. Talia watched in horror as the twins fought, Mephisto's sword clanging against hers furiously, while Praxina was quite fast and blocked and parried very well, he was much, much stronger than she was physically, and the wear of his assault was taking its toll.

"Whats _happened_ to him!?" Izira asked, noting the darkness permeating inside him that she had not sensed a trace of a week ago at his party. He was a far cry from the foolish ruffian she had met then.

"He's been corrupted by the dark crystal magic," Talia told her, "We have to help him!"

"Help him!? He's trying to kill us!"

"He would never do that if he were in the right state of mind." Talia explained, looking back at the sword fight, "He's just... just confused and angry,"

Izira encased her bandaged wound in a thin layer of blue crystal, just so it was firm enough to walk on. She rose to her feet, with Talia's help, brushing off the pain and standing upright.

"Ok. Whats the plan, little sister?"

"ME!?" Talia gasped. Izira was the one with the plan. Izira always had a plan, "You're the one who always has the plan! You're the hero! The natural leader! You're the big sister!,"

"But, today, I'm just the bridesmaid,"

Meanwhile, Praxina felt herself growing weaker in her arms, whereas Mephisto had energy for days. She flew into the air, hoping the distance would buy her some time, but he was in front of her in a flash, continuing his barrage of swipes. The twins flew about the top of the chamber, weaving around the crystal monster that wasn't doing so well against the other 4 princesses. Lev was even helping out, working with the other guests to open one of the windows.

"Talia was NEVER going to hurt you!" Praxina tried to reason with him, "You've been deceived! _I'm_ the one who manipulated her conversation with her sister! Gramorr ordered it!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Mephisto screamed, "She still BETRAYED me by telling everyone about your dark crystal magic"

"That's not-"

"MEPHISTO!" Talia shouted, he and Praxina saw her flying at him, on the back of Amaru at top speed, holding Izira's shield. Mephisto braced himself for an attack, but he was thrown off and quite shocked to see her leap from Amaru's back, and go flying into him. The shield blocked her from his blade, shattering the green crystal formation on contact. Talia then, let go of the shield in time to wrap her arms around Mephisto's neck and pressing her lips onto his in an intense, very awkward kiss, promising to him, "I love you!"

Mephisto's eyes went wide as his entire body went limp. Talia could feel the darkness inside him warring itself out around her as the fell. She started to shake him, knowing that the fall would be very painful for them both. She tried to turn them so she would be the one to hit the ground first, and maybe save him some pain, but he was too heavy and they were moving much too fast. Soon, they had reached the ground, colliding with the marbled floor in such a manner they almost cracked the tile.

Talia lifted herself up off his chest and gasped when she saw him laying there with his eyes closed.

"Mephisto? MEPHISTO!" She cried, her hands found his shoulders and she shook him lightly at first, but got more and more intense the longer he was out, "You have to get up! Please! Mephisto! Please be ok!"

In Izira's horror, she saw him silently lift an arm, unseen to Talia, and form an arched hand to grab at her sister.

"TALIA! LOOK OUT!"

It was too late. Talia glanced back at her sister, only to have Mephito's strong arm encase her and pull her back down to him, his other hand found her face and guided her...

to place a gentle, soft kiss on his lips.

Shocked, Talia pulled back to see her buffoon fiance smiling up at her. Though he looked completely exhausted, his face had the look of pure bliss, his eyes glimmering.

"Yeah... that's the stuff..." He sighed heavily, as if taking a big drink refreshing of water on a hot day.

"Mephisto...! Are you...?"

"In love with you? Obsessed with you? DYING to know who put you in that hideous dress so I can punish them myself?" He asked, sitting up a bit and taking her hand. He gave her another kiss, this one a bit more intense than the last, "All the above,"

"That's great, guys! Adorable. But do you think you can HELP US take out that monster you made!?" Carissa shouted just as the beast made a mad-dash from Princess Lyna, who had been distracted by the ceiling that started to crumble, and land around her. Carissa ran to block the beasts attack, hitting it with her giant Calixian war-hammer. She then turned to Lyna and asked if she was ok. Lyna gave her savior a hug, thanking her profusely. Carissa blushed and said it was her pleasure.

Mephisto looked at his sister who was standing before him, looking aloof as usual. She gave him a half-hearted glance and groaned, offering her hand to him to help him up. Once to his feet, Mephisto put a hand on her shoulder, "Shall we, sis?"

"I guess so. Prison can't be any worse than what we've had before, right?" She was joking, but only Mephisto could tell. He laughed and took her hand before they both lay them back down and cast the spell that would take back the life inside the beast. And as easily as it had been created, it exploded into the shards that it was made off, turning to light and vanishing into the air.

At that very moment, Gramorr gasped, and was struck down by the Ephedian king and landed on his back, looking up at the warriors who took him down.

"It's over, Gramorr! Give up now!"

Gramorr's shocked expression twisted into a maniacal laugh that filled the entire chamber with dread.

"THE DAY IS OURS, VILLAIN!" The voltan king shouted.

"You can't win!" The Xerin king added.

"Oh, I am well aware of that," Gramorr cackled, sending a shockwave towards them, blasting the kings back so they collided with the seating behind them. Gramorr rose, and took to the sky. His arms stretched out, and an ominous wind started to whip around him. The ceiling of the chamber blasted off, revealing the sky growing a deep, dark red. Gramorr was laughing like a mad man, "If I cannot rule Ephedia... THEN THERE WILL BE NO EPHEDIA!"

Like a rock hitting the earth, Gramorr plummeted back down, his claws piercing through the marble and crackling the stone all throughout the chamber. A dark purple ring filled the area for miles as he performed a spell no one had heard of... no one but Praxina.

"Whats he DOING!?" Talia shouted.

"He's going to kill the planet!" Izira gasped, "And all of us with it!"

Each of the kings, and most of the princesses tried to charge at him, but none could get by the massive forcefield of magic that surrounded him.

Praxina looked at them all, struggling and failing. She watched them get up and try over and over, knowing there was nothing that could be done. She then turned her attention to her brother, who was holding Talia in his arms, shielding her from the flying debris... he looked so scared, so intense... and her heart hurt... not because she felt angry or jealous anymore... but because she had let those feelings almost destroy any chance her brother had at true happiness. She wouldn't let that happen again.

"TALIA!" Praxina shouted over the roaring winds. Talia and Mephisto both looked over to her. Praxina took a moment. She turned her back on them and looked at Gramorr intensely. As if working up the nerve... she took a deep, ragged breath. One last moment of hesitation before ordering, in a much kinder voice than she was used to, "Take care of Mephisto for me,"

"WHAT!?" Mephisto shouted, "Praxina..!"

Praxina teleported into Gramorr's forcefield and slammed her hands down beside his. The magic circle started to glow a bright red. Mephisto let go of Talia and ran over to his sister, screaming, but no one could hear him. He tried to teleport the same way she did, but she had cast a retraction spell to keep him out.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PRAXINA!" Gramorr shouted.

Praxina just gave him a badass 'gotcha' smirk. She didn't bother with a stupid line. No foolish or braggadocios last words. No. She was cooler than that. She didn't need to say anything.

Using the same magic she had years before to take the life from their village, Praxina shot it all back into the planet, over Gramorr's life taking spell. She shot out every ounce of her strength, every bit of the dark crystal magic that she had stored and every part of her soul, along with the light crystal magic inside her as well. It was all just enough to cause an implosion in the forcefield Gramorr had created, and enough to cancel out his spell.

A single tear fell from Praxina's eye. She could hear her brother screaming her name. She could see his form, fighting against the winds to get closer to her. Craning his neck upwards, he locked eyes with her.

"We'll find another way! PRAXINA!" He begged her.

She gave him a smile, and whispered that she was sorry... and that she loved him...

BOOM.

Mephisto and everyone else, was blasted back when the shockwave hit. The deafening sound stretched for miles, and took out one of the towers and a supporting wall of the Zanavian castle.

When the dust finally settled and the sky went back to blue... everyone started to realize what had happened, there was a celebration. Cheers and laughs and cries could be heard as the wedding guests all came together...

All but Mephisto... who fell to his knees, eyes wide and in total disbelief. He stared in horror at the place she last was... just a big empty circle of black and crumbled marble. Tears couldn't even fall, he was so out of it. His ears were ringing, his head was pounding and his stomach was doing cartwheels over and over. After what felt like an eternity, (though in reality it was closer to 2 minutes) he winced as his eyes flooded with tears.

Talia was by his side in a hurry, having ran to him from where she had been thrown off to. She knelt before him, and wrapped her arms around his middle. Instantly the young lord collapsed into her, throwing his arms around her for support and let out the loudest sob she had ever heard. In fact, it was more of a scream than a sob. Talia didn't mind how his hug pulled at her hair, or that his tears were running down her neck and causing irritation. In fact, tears of her own began to form and spill.

"she'sgoneshe'sgoneshe'sgone SHE'S GONE!" Mephisto kept saying over and over, unable to cope with the horrible feeling inside.

Talia didn't say anything to him, just tried to return the intensity of his hug as best she could. He was practically crushing her as his whole body trembled.

Neither of them noticed the crowd of the people who fought with them start to gather around them. There was a hush that befell them all, as no one knew what to do for the lad.

"LOOK!" Auriana shouted, cutting through the silence. Everyone, including Mephisto rose their heads to see...

Out of the cracks of the marbled stone... rose a small red bud...

Mephisto ran over to it, throwing away the chunks of marble around it. A pained smile spreading on his lips as he saw it... the same flower their mother milked for a living... the same flower Praxina always kept in vases in her room...

Mephisto let a few more tears fall, though he was smiling at the sight of the little red blossom sprig bud.

He laughed a bit, feeling like a fool by his sister one last time. He should have known...

She would never _really_ leave him...

...

I was really hesitant about killing Praxina... considering I feel like the fandom can be a bit unfair when it comes between her and her brother... but I wanted to her atone for her past sins in a way that would make her a hero. Praxina is the real hero of this story, in any way you look at it and I wanted to give that to her, considering she is often painted as the villain keeping her brother from the light.

Also I wanted to give her a chance to save her brother in the same way he did for her on the show.

So I hope you guys don't hate me for it. And if it made you cry, then I'm happy I was able to get you to feel so strongly for this story.

Thanks so much for reading!


	11. Epilogue

EPILOGUE

I wasn't gonna leave you guys like that.

...

"TALIA! You look amazing!" Auriana gasped, tying another flower in her friends hair.

"Mephisto's going to faint when he sees you," Iris giggled.

Talia blushed, taking herself in. It's true... she did feel much lovlier than she usually did. Her long hair was braided and decorated with all sorts of beautiful blossoms. Her dress was a Xerin masterpiece, pure white but trimmed in gold and bright sapphires. Her exposed mid drift and form fitting skirt showed off her figure perfectly. Atop her head she wore the traditional Xerin wedding headdress. She was a vision of perfection in every way.

The door creaked open and the sound of a person with three legs entering the room alerted the princesses to stand abruptly.

"Queen Izira," Iris and Auriana bowed. Talia turned a smiling face to her sister, the newly crowned queen of Xeris after her father's decision to step down when his health started declining.

"Izira!" Talia ran to her sisters arms, but not so intense so to cause her to wobble any on her bad leg, "I was so worried you wouldn't make it,"

"Are you kidding? After your last wedding did you really think I'd miss it?" Izira laughed, "Everything looks amazing, by the way. You two obviously make a really great team,"

Talia had spent the last three years with Mephisto in Zanavia. Helping him with his new responsibilities as the sitting lord of the country. Together they tore down what remained of the castle and built a new, more inviting one. They improved the public dwellings as well, using the funds Gramorr had been hoarding for years and years. It was more than enough to provide the entire country with better living conditions. They were able to also repurpose the peoples taxes so more money was used to go back to the people (granted, Talia did most of that herself. Mephisto was a mess with numbers). Servant hood was outlawed, finally, and a minimum wage was put in effect. They also erected a beautiful monument over the mass burial of Mephisto and Praxina's old village, and purified the land.

Together, the two of them had made Zanavia a better place in 3 years than Gramorr had in who knows how long.

But the thing Mephisto was proudest of... was the orphanage they founded and named for his sister- "Prax's Place," He went there almost every day and hung out with the children. He sang songs with them and taught them his favorite pranks. It was a place they could just be kids, and get a solid education. They didn't need to worry about working or money or what would happen to them. They were well cared for given the lives all children deserved. And, after a lot of begging and pleading from his favorite chamber maid, he allowed Beatrice to work as the head mistress. The children loved and respected her and she spent her days doing what she loved the most- caring for children who needed it. The work suited her very well. And though Mephisto hated that she was still working in her old age, she batted his concerns away.

Interestingly enough, that was where Mephisto was at, while his bride was preparing for their wedding at that moment.

"I am the PILLOW MONSTER!" The young lord with a blanket over his head shouted. The children screamed with delight, and scattered, grabbing all the pillows and bedding they could to pummel him with, "HAHAHA! You fools! YOUR HIGH THREAD COUNT ONLY INCREASES MY POWER!"

One child swung his pillow hard enough that it collided with Mephisto's face, shocking the young man.

"OUCH! I bit my tongue!" The young lord cried, throwing the blanket off. The children laughed, "It's not funny, guys! Diono, you play too rough!"

"Sorry, Lord, Mephisto," The boy snickered, clearly not that apologetic.

"What in the name of the gods...!" The shocked expression from the head mistess silenced the room. The kids scattered to tuck behind their ring leader, "You children have plenty of toys! Your bedding is not one of them!"

"Lord Mephisto said it was ok..." a young girl cried out.

Mephisto turned a hurt look at her, "Snitches get stitches, Fiona!"

"Yeah, he was the pillow monster," Another child commented.

"LOIKIO GEEZE!"

Beatrice walked over to Mephisto with her hands on her hips. She had that intense look she always put on that could get anyone to do anything. Mephisto did his best to puff out his chest and look intimidating. He didn't need a babysitter any more.

"I am the sitting lord of this country, Beatrice. This is my building. I paid for the bedding and I will use it as I see fit!" Mephisto boasted. The children looked at each other with shocked, amused faces, holding back their snickers as they knew something bad was about to happen to their favorite grown up.

"Is that so?" She asked, her eyebrow arched at him.

He crumbled. He simply couldn't stand her disapproval.

"I'm sorry..." He wilted, earning the laughter of the children, "I'll clean it up right now,"

"You don't have time, My Lord," Beatrice told him sternly, "You have to get ready,"

"Oh geeze! is it 5 already!?" His head popped up, looking at the clock on the wall, he frantically started to gather his things as he paced about nervously for a moment. He was about to marry the love of his life and he wasn't nearly ready for it emotionally. Beatrice stopped him, putting both hands on his shoulders and inhaling deeply. He mimicked her and together they exhaled at the same time.

"Better?"

"Better," He sighed, beyond grateful to have her in his life. He turned to the children, "Alright, guys, I gotta get outta here,"

The kids 'awww'ed' in disappointment, always sad to their favorite Orphan leave. He promised he'd be back soon, and with more toys! The kids cheered him before Beatrice could scold him for spoiling them. He took her arms in his own and gave her a quick waltz turn and spun her gracefully. He promised her a dance at the celebration before kissing her cheek. All frustration with him was lost on Beatrice as she laughed in delight. The boy was too charming for his own good.

"I bought you a dress! It's in your office! Wear it!" He called to her before dashing off.

...

Mephisto was still adjusting his cloak when he arrived at the newly constructed chamber. Though he knew he looked really sharp in his wedding duds, he felt a mess. He was so excited to see his bride and so nervous about everything going just right. He went over the checklist in his mind, trying to keep his attention on the details. Details. He was so bad at the details. Praxina was the one who was good at the details...

He was alerted by Lev that the ceremony would be starting soon, so he needed to get in place. He and Talia had decided to have their own kind of ceremony, that took the best parts of both the Xerin and Zanavian one. Instead of walking down together to the crystal, they would enter from opposite ends of the chamber and meet in the middle where the crystal was, as a metaphor for their own journeys leading them to each other.

But when those doors opened and Mephisto caught a glimpse of the woman he would be marrying he had to control himself not to sprint all the way to her. Talia was always a looker... but she nearly had him floored. She walked over to him, a hint of red painting her cheeks at the way he was looking at her, and for all the attention she was getting. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, and was worried he may have thought her look was too much.

Meanwhile, Mephisto was biting his lip, listening to Praxina in his mind telling him to play it cool.

They made it to the crystal and Mephisto couldn't hold back his dopey grin. She was just so...

Talia smirked at him, knowing he was having trouble keeping it together.

They both dropped to sit at the floor pillows, as was the Zanavian ritual, but, Mephisto slipped off Talia's shoes before allowing her to slip off his, as was the Xerin way. Together, in their bare feet, they held hands as they rose to stand before each other.

They recited the Xerin unity chant, a set of promises to each other that they had been already been keeping for the last 3 years, before placing their hands on the sacred purple crystal and saying the spell to unify their souls. Talia let out a small giggle. It tickled a bit more than she remembered last time.

With the spell completed, the couple presented each other with earrings, the symbol in Xeris for a wedded couple. She placed Mephisto's on his right ear, and he put hers on her left. They were a matching set, a simple teal bead that dangled from a gold stud. The perfect combination of their two signature colors.

Lastly, they kissed. Mephisto wrapped his arms around Talia's middle and pulled her in close, planting the softest kiss on her lips. The crowd all cheered for them, the ceremony being completed. Music started to play throughout the chamber and the whole room was bathed in beautiful light from the unity crystal. Talia broke the kiss first, smiling up at her wonderful husband. A coy smirk grew on Mephisto's lips as he let out a loud burst of overjoyed laughter. He lifted his bride up in his arms and swung her around in a full circle. Talia's eyes rolled when he just held her in the air for a moment, laughing like a child who just got the best present of his life.

"You done?"

"Oh not even close," He told her, bringing her back down for a much more passionate kiss. He bent her back into a dip, and the audience went ballistic, laughing and cheering along with them. When Mephisto broke the kiss, he looked to the group and shouted, "Party back at the castle, guys! LETS CELEBRATE!"

...

The amount of joy and love that filled fields of the Zanavian castle could have powered the entire capital of Ephedia. Sweet liquor, Xerin Wine and the finest Calixian ale flowed in abundance. Everyone was dancing and laughing and having such a grand old time, it was enough to forget of the horrors that had taken place merely three years prior. Talia's family watched with pride as their youngest member danced with her husband, being showered with kisses all over her face and neck.

Because they had invited the entire country, and the royals of the other nations to come, they had decided to throw the party out behind the castle, where there was nothing but empty flat land for miles and miles. It had been decorated so beautifully, however, if one hadn't known about the occasion, they would have assumed it was a giant festival of some kind.

Talia couldn't imagine being happier as she was spun around again and again on the dance floor. Even as a little girl, she never could have imagined feeling this loved and special by one person.

"Pssst! Talia... Look at Carissa and Lyna!" Mephisto whispered to his bride. Talia looked over her shoulder to see Carissa, looking absolutely stunning in her fitted dress cloak was escorting the beautiful Lyna, who looked like a doll come to life, dawned in the most gorgeous robe Talia had ever seen. They were bickering about something, but it was clearly getting intense. Ever since saving her from the crystal monster attack, Lyna had fallen for Carissa and the two had been courting... however, they were so different all they ever did was bicker...

Not unlike another certain couple that was currently celebrating their marriage, however.

"Four kisses says Carissa apologizes first," Mephisto grinned.

"Thats a suckers bet," Talia smirked back at him.

Sure enough, they watched as Carissa sighed, and put on her best apologetic face and speak to Lyna much softer than before. Lyna smiled at her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, indicating they were all better now.

"Damn," Mephisto cursed, "Could really have used those kisses,"

Talia giggled and leaned up to place four chaste smooches on her beloveds face.

Izira approached them, a soft, patient smile on her face. She bowed at them, and Mephisto straightened up and bowed in return.

"Congratulations, Lord Mephisto," Izira told him respectfully, "You've been blessed with the best wife,"

" _And_ the best inlaw!" Mephisto said larkily, opening his arms up wide, to encase the queen in a big hug, minding her crippled leg and cane, "Come here, sis!"

Izira let out a loud laugh, telling him he wasn't as charming as he thought he was. To which Mephisto had to respectfully disagree.

Talia giggled delightfully, taking in the moment.

But there was still one last person they needed to celebrate with...

...

While the party was in full swing, Mephisto and Talia stole away for a moment, carrying baskets in their arms. Mephisto gathered his shoeless bride in his arms and flew her across the vast distance to where the old wedding chamber once stood... where now a beautiful shrine had taken its place around the red Blossom Sprig that was growing to an impressive size. The bulb was almost as big as tree!

Zanavian Blossom sprigs could get to be the size of towers if left to grow wild and weren't cut or milked. Mephisto would die before he let his sisters flower be touched in such a way. It would grow and grow for as long as it could.

Mephisto laid down the floor pillows in his basket, and Talia took out the bottle of sweet liquor (Praxina's favorite) and the crystal goblets, along with a few of the spicey cookies she had liked.

They sat down and poured the liquor in the three goblets, placing one by the flower.

"We got married today, sis. The ceremony was so beautiful and everyone's having a really great time at the party... " Mephisto told her, his voice only cracking a little, "You'dve hated it,"

Talia giggled at him, before turning the shrine, and sincerely saying, "No you wouldn'tve,"

Mephisto smiled, his eyes getting a bit misty.

"No... you wouldn'tve,"

He got very quiet for awhile. Talia placed her hand over his and gave him a patient, sweet smile.

"She was a hero. You know that, don't you?" Talia told him, caressing over his hand with her fingers. Mephisto smiling, but it was so sad. He nodded solemnly, indicating that he knew very well that she was.

"I never wanted her to be a hero," He confessed with a broken smile, keeping his eyes on the shrine... the only thing he had left of his family. Mephisto's life was wonderful. He had the love of his country, and a beautiful woman who would stand by him for the rest of his life. He had friends and a wonderful home he had made for himself. And yet, a piece of him felt like it was missing... without his sister, the person who came into the world with him, he couldn't help but feel alone, "I just wanted her to be my sister..."

He reached out to touch the bulb, and to his shock... it started to tremble. He recoiled his hands hastily and rose to his feet, not minding the mud getting stuck to his toes. Talia leaned back, confused by her husbands reaction.

"Mephisto? What is it?"

"I... I can feel her..." He gasped. Gulping, he leaned forward to touch it again, the skin of the petals were soft, but firm. And again, the flower trembled at his touch. He didn't pull away though, in fact, he put both hands against it. He didn't perform any spell, but he pushed some magic through his palms to the plant... and to his and Talia's amazement, the bulb opened.

Suddenly, after 3 years of being a giant bulb, it blossomed at once, the petals spilling open. Tears rolled from Mephisto's eyes when he caught a glimpse of what looked like burgundy hair coming from inside the center of the flower. He rushed forward, pushing the petals open impatiently. He had hoped with all his heart, he wasn't imaginig it... but when he saw her, he was shocked... and in complete awe at his sister... sleeping inside the folds of the flower. Her hair had grown to be almost as long as Talias, it wrapped around her in long tressed tangles. She wasn't dressed, having been borne from a flower and all, but Mephisto didn't even care, especially when he saw that she was breathing...

and blue eyes started to open.

"PRAXINA!" He shouted, reaching inside to pull her out. Talia gasped when she saw Mephisto emerge from the flower with his sister in his arms. Talia rushed to their side. Though Praxina's long hair did an effective job of covering her nakedness, Talia still took the liberty to take off Mephistos cape to drape around her new sister in law.

Praxina started to stir slightly, her eyes taking in her surroundings.

"M... Mephisto...?" She breathed. She looked around at everything, not recognizing the castle in the distance, "What... where am I?"

"You're home," Mephisto told her, holding her tightly to his chest as he felt his knees get weak. He knelt down with her, worried he may drop her from his overwhelming feelings. He didn't bother to stop his tears, completely overcome with how happy he was, "Gods, Praxina... I thought I'd never see you again...!"

"Home...?" She blinked, looking at his face and at Talia's, who was staring at her with the biggest smile on of her face. Both of them were crying, and dressed so nicely... Praxina saw the matching earrings and completely faltered, "Son of a... did you two ACTUALLY get married!? What? Do you BOTH have stockholm syndrom, or something!?"

Laughing, Mephisto wiped at his tears, setting his sister down to let her stand. She was a bit wobbly, and needed him for balance, he stood firm for her, happy to to keep her in his arms a bit longer.

"You look so young," Talia chided, eyes wide, "That flower must have preserved you..."

"What do you mean?"

"Its been three years since our fight with Gramorr," Talia told her, "Mephisto and I and everyone else have all aged... but you still look 18,"

"Does this mean...!" Mephisto's eyes lit up, "That I'm the older twin now!?"

"NO!" Praxina shouted. Mephisto bellowed out a hardy laugh.

"WHAT A DAY!" He exclaimed, "First I get married, then I get my LITTLE sister back!? We have to celebrate!"

"UGH!" Praxina's eyes rolled as she tore away from her brother's hug. Talia placed a patient hand on her shoulder, and Praxina had to look at her a little nervously. She wasn't sure how things would be between them now.

"We're just so happy you're back," Talia chided, making sure to add a dig, "... _Little sis_ ,"

"Don't ever do that, again..." Praxina deadpanned. Mephisto wrapped one arm around Talia and another around his sister, pulling them both in for a hug. Talia wrapped both her arms around them as well, happy to be in the group hug.

"NOPE! We're a family now, sis! All of us! FOREVER AND EVER!"

"Ugh, just put me back in the flower..." Praxina groaned loudly, but she was smiling...

The End

3

I really hope you guys liked it! I'm actually kinda sad its over, myself.

As always, I really appreciate you reading this far into it,

and I would LOVE to hear what you thought of it. Even if you hated it!

Its been fun!


End file.
